Case Digest (G.R. No. 210013)
Facts:
Dangerous Drugs Board v. Maria Belen Angelita V. Matibag, G.R. No. 210013, January 22, 2020, the Supreme Court First Division, Caguioa, J., writing for the Court.
The petitioner is the Dangerous Drugs Board (DDB); the respondent is Maria Belen Angelita V. Matibag. Matibag was Chief of Policy Studies, Research and Statistics Division of the DDB and was appointed Deputy Executive Director for Operations (rank of Assistant Secretary) on January 5, 2007. Her designation continued until the Office of the President issued memoranda (OP‑MC No. 1, later amended by OP‑MC No. 2) addressing non‑Career Executive Service Officers (non‑CESOs) occupying Career Executive Service (CES) positions and prescribing the period they could remain in office.
Matibag sought clarification of her status under OP‑MC No. 1 and, on November 23, 2010, asked the Civil Service Commission (CSC) for an opinion. The CSC replied (Nov. 30, 2010) citing Section 2(3), Article IX‑B of the 1987 Constitution and stating that possession of an appropriate Civil Service eligibility conferred security of tenure. The Executive Secretary, however, in a January 7, 2011 letter, advised that the requisite eligibility for CES third‑level positions is conferred by the Career Executive Service Board (CESB), not merely the CSC’s Career Service Executive Eligibility (CSEE). Acting DDB Executive Director Undersecretary Edgar C. Galvante issued a memorandum dated March 2, 2011 terminating Matibag’s designation as Deputy Executive Director for Operations on the ground that she was a non‑CESO holder, while reserving the possibility of reappointment.
Matibag filed an illegal dismissal complaint with the CSC. The CSC found the dismissal illegal, ordered reinstatement, and awarded backwages (Decision dated April 10, 2012). The DDB appealed to the Court of Appeals (CA), which denied the petition and affirmed the CSC in a Decision dated July 18, 2013 and Resolution dated November 11, 2013. The CA agreed with the CSC that Matibag’s CSEE entitled her to security of tenure as it covered a CES position.
The DDB filed a petition for review on certiorari under Rule 45 to the Supreme Court. During the pendency of the petition, Matibag was appointed and took her oath as Executive Director of the DDB on April 7, 2017 and moved to dismiss the ...(Subscriber-Only)
Issues:
- Is the petition moot and academic given Matibag’s subsequent appointment as Executive Director?
- Was Matibag illegally dismissed from her designation as Deputy Executive Director for Operations on March 2, 2011?
- Does possession of the Civil Service Commission’s Career Service Executive Eligibility (CSEE) alone suffice to confer CES eligibility and security of tenure for a third‑level CES position, or must a CSEE holder still complete a...(Subscriber-Only)
Ruling:
- (Subscriber-Only)
Ratio:
- (Subscriber-Only)
Doctrine:
- (Subscriber-Only)