G.R. No. L-11262 - Castillo vs. Pajo

In November 1951, Carmen R. Castillo was appointed as a correspondence clerk in the office of the Provincial Fiscal of Bohol by the Provincial Governor.
Her appointment was based on the regular procedures of the civil service, implying that she was a civil service eligible, thus enjoying the benefits and protections afforded to such employees.

On June 9, 1954, the Provincial Board of Bohol passed Resolutions Nos. 161 and 300 which abolished the position of correspondence clerk.
As a consequence, Carmen R. Castillo stopped working on June 12, 1954, because her office had been formally eliminated from the provincial payroll.
The abolition was grounded on the Board’s power to fix the number of employees and determine salaries under Section 2081 of the Revised Administrative Code, though no explicit statutory provision granted it the authority to abolish positions.

Carmen R. Castillo initiated a legal action seeking reinstatement, the payment of back salaries, damages, and attorney’s fees.
Her claim was based on the argument that her separation was unlawful in view of her civil service eligibility and security of tenure guaranteed by the Constitution’s provision that "No officer or employee in the civil service shall be removed or suspended except for cause as provided by law."
She also contended that the Secretary of Finance had disapproved of the abolishing resolutions, ostensibly supporting her retention in the provincial service.

The respondents, which included the Provincial Governor and Board Members, defended the legality of the abolition.
They argued that the constitutional protection against removal did not apply to the abolition of a government position.
They maintained that the Secretary of Finance’s “suggestion” for her retention was not a decisive act and did not alter the legal effect of the Board’s resolutions.
A hearing was conducted and detailed memoranda were submitted by both parties.
The trial judge, citing relevant decisions, concluded that the Provincial Board legitimately exercised its power to abolish the position, and dismissed the petition.

Carmen R. Castillo appealed the ruling and took the matter to the Court of Appeals.
The Court of Appeals, considering the matter to involve purely questions of law, certified the record to the Supreme Court under the Judiciary Act of 1948.
Two central issues were identified in the case: the validity of the abolition and the consequent separation of the petitioner from the provincial service.

Whether the Provincial Board had the inherent power, under the Revised Administrative Code and the principles of public administration, to abolish the position created by it.
Whether the absence of an express statutory provision empowering the Board to abolish positions precludes it from doing so when such power is implied in its creation of the office.

Whether the abolition of the correspondence clerk position, even if done lawfully, results in the lawful separation of Carmen R. Castillo from the provincial service.
Whether the constitutional guarantee protecting civil service employees against removal “except for cause as provided by law” applies when a position is abolished rather than when an employee is directly removed for cause.