Title
Almendras vs. Del Rosario
Case
G.R. No. L-20158
Decision Date
Oct 14, 1968
The City Mayor of Cebu lacked authority to appoint Osmeña Waterworks System employees; invalid appointees were entitled to salaries for services rendered until the Supreme Court's final decision.
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Case Digest (G.R. No. L-20158)

Facts:

  1. Appointment Authority: The City Mayor of Cebu appointed officers and employees of the Osmeña Waterworks System.
  2. Legal Challenge: The Commissioner of Civil Service contested the City Mayor's authority to make these appointments.
  3. Lower Court Decision: The lower court ruled in favor of the petitioners (appointed employees), declaring that the City Mayor had the authority to appoint them and ordering the Commissioner of Civil Service to attest and approve the appointments.
  4. Supreme Court Decision: The Supreme Court reversed the lower court's decision, holding that the City Mayor lacked the authority to appoint the employees. However, it affirmed that employees who had rendered service were entitled to payment of their salaries from the date of their appointment until the decision became final.
  5. Motion for Clarification: The City Treasurer filed a motion seeking clarification on how to implement the Supreme Court's decision, claiming it was ambiguous.

Issue:

  1. Whether the City Mayor of Cebu had the authority to appoint officers and employees of the Osmeña Waterworks System.
  2. Whether the employees appointed by the City Mayor were entitled to payment of their salaries despite the invalidity of their appointments.
  3. Whether the Supreme Court's decision was ambiguous and required clarification.

Ruling:

  1. Authority of the City Mayor: The Supreme Court ruled that the City Mayor of Cebu did not have the authority to appoint officers and employees of the Osmeña Waterworks System.
  2. Payment of Salaries: The Court held that employees who had rendered service under their invalid appointments were entitled to payment of their salaries from the date of their appointment until the decision became final.
  3. Clarification of Judgment: The Court clarified that the decision was not ambiguous. It simply meant that the employees' appointments were nullified, but they were entitled to payment for services rendered up to the finality of the decision. They could also be reappointed by competent authority after the decision became final.

Ratio:

  1. Appointment Authority: The power to appoint officers and employees of the Osmeña Waterworks System does not lie with the City Mayor of Cebu but with the competent authority as determined by law.
  2. Equitable Relief: Despite the invalidity of the appointments, employees who had rendered service were entitled to payment of their salaries under the principle of equity and fairness.
  3. Finality of Judgment: The Supreme Court's decision nullified the appointments but allowed for the possibility of reappointment by the proper authority after the decision became final.


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