G.R. No. 9973 - Hicks vs. Manila Hotel Co.

On February 19, 2008, the Commission En Banc of the Commission on Human Rights (CHR) approved the appointment of Maricelle M. Cortes as Information Officer V (IO V).
Commissioner Eligio P. Mallari, Cortes’s father, abstained from voting and sought a legal opinion on the appointment’s legality.
On March 31, 2008, the CHR Legal Division opined that the rule on nepotism did not apply, but Chairperson Quisumbing instructed Cortes not to assume her post pending completion of the appointment process.

On April 4, 2008, the CSC-NCR Field Office commenced an investigation into Cortes’s appointment.
On April 9, 2008, CSC-NCR Director Cornelio ruled the appointment invalid under the nepotism prohibition of Section 9, Revised Omnibus Rules on Appointments.
Cortes’s appeal was denied on September 30, 2008; she then filed a petition for review with the CSC.
On March 2, 2010, CSC Resolution 10-0370 denied her petition; a motion for reconsideration was denied on July 12, 2010 (Resolution 10-1396).
Effective August 4, 2010, Cortes’s services were terminated by CHR Officer-in-Charge Cardona.

On August 16, 2010, Cortes petitioned the Court of Appeals (CA) for review and injunctive relief.
On August 11, 2011, the CA nullified CSC Resolutions 10-0370 and 10-1396 and ordered Cortes’s reinstatement.
A motion for reconsideration was denied by the CA on January 10, 2012.
The Civil Service Commission then filed a petition for review with the Supreme Court.

Whether the Court of Appeals erred in ruling that Cortes’s appointment as IO V is not covered by the prohibition against nepotism.