G.R. No. 170598 - Far East Bank and Trust Co. vs. Chante

On 30 September 1998, President Estrada issued Executive Order No. 29 mandating the streamlining of the National Tobacco Administration (NTA).
On 27 October 1998, Executive Order No. 36 amended E.O. No. 29 by increasing the staffing ceiling from 400 to not exceeding 750 positions.
Pursuant thereto, the NTA prepared a new Organization Structure and Staffing Pattern (OSSP), submitted it to the Office of the President on 29 October 1998, and on 4 December 1998 the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) approved it with revisions.
The NTA created a placement committee to evaluate and disseminate individual applicants’ qualifications for the new OSSP.

On 11 November 1998, rank‐and‐file employees (petitioners) filed a letter‐appeal with the Civil Service Commission seeking to recall the OSSP.
On 10 June 1999, petitioners received individual notices of termination effective thirty days from receipt.
Petitioners filed a petition for certiorari, prohibition, and mandamus with prayer for preliminary injunction and/or temporary restraining order before the Regional Trial Court (RTC) of Batac, Ilocos Norte, seeking to enjoin enforcement of their termination and to order their reinstatement with backwages.

On 9 September 2000, the RTC ordered the NTA to appoint petitioners to positions similar or comparable to their former assignments under the new OSSP. Its denial of the NTA’s motion for reconsideration on 28 February 2001 was likewise adverse to respondents.
The NTA appealed to the Court of Appeals (CA), raising issues on proof of best qualification, automatic preferential rights, compliance with reorganization rules (RA 6656 and Civil Service Commission Rules), and the validity of E.O. Nos. 29 and 36.

On 20 February 2002, the CA reversed and set aside the RTC’s orders, finding the terminations valid and the reorganization carried out in good faith.
Petitioners filed a petition for review on certiorari with this Court, which on 18 November 2002 denied review for lack of reversible error. Their motion for reconsideration was denied on 20 January 2003.
Petitioners filed a “Motion to Admit Petition for En Banc Resolution,” challenging the President’s power to reorganize the NTA by executive fiat.

Whether the CA erred in its factual findings regarding petitioners’ qualifications and proof of being “best qualified and most deserving.”
Whether incumbent permanent employees have an automatic preferential right or first refusal under the new OSSP.
Whether the NTA complied with RA 6656 and Civil Service Commission rules in implementing E.O. Nos. 29 and 36.
Whether the validity of Executive Orders Nos. 29 and 36 can be challenged in this case.
Whether the President may validly reorganize the NTA by executive order without legislative enactment.