Case Digest (G.R. No. 213237)
Facts:
Civil Service Commission, and The Municipality of Masiu, Lanao del Sur, Represented by Mayor Nasser P. Pangandaman, Jr., petitioners, vs. Samad M. Unda, respondent, G.R. Nos. 213237 and 213331, September 13, 2017, Supreme Court Third Division, Bersamin, J., writing for the Court.Outgoing Mayor Aminullah D. Arimao appointed Samad M. Unda as Municipal Environment and Natural Resources Officer (MENRO) of Masiu on March 8, 2007. After the 2007 elections, incoming Mayor Nasser P. Pangandaman, Jr. discovered the LGU had no approved annual budgets for 2006 and 2007 and that several municipal employees—including Unda—were “midnight appointees” allegedly appointed to positions lacking appropriation; he withheld their salaries and petitioned the Civil Service Commission (CSC) for annulment of the appointments. The case was referred to CSC Regional Office–ARMM (CSCRO‑ARMM).
On February 15, 2010, CSCRO‑ARMM upheld Unda’s appointment on the ground that he had been screened by the Personnel Screening Board (PSB) before the election ban. The Municipality moved for reconsideration; CSCRO‑ARMM denied it on June 2, 2010. The matter was elevated to the national CSC.
On March 15, 2012, the CSC reversed CSCRO‑ARMM and disapproved Unda’s appointment, holding the MENRO position had been created only under the 2006 budget that was not approved and that Unda had not passed PSB screening. Motions for reconsideration to the CSC were denied on October 16, 2012. Unda appealed to the Court of Appeals (CA).
The CA, in a decision promulgated January 23, 2014, reversed the CSC and held Unda’s appointment valid, reasoning that Sections 443 and 484 of the Local Government Code (LGC) created the MENRO position and made the office institutionalized in municipalities; the CA also found Unda’s appointment pre‑...(Subscriber-Only)
Issues:
- Was the appointment of Samad M. Unda as MENRO of Masiu valid and in accordance with law?
- Did Unda’s appointment require a prior resolution by the Sangguniang Bayan creating the position, confirmation of the appointment, and an appropriation ordinance to fund the pos...(Subscriber-Only)
Ruling:
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Ratio:
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Doctrine:
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