Case Digest (G.R. No. 140335)
Facts:
Thelma P. Gaminde v. Commission on Audit and/or Hon. Celso D. Gangan, Hon. Raul C. Flores and Emmanuel M. Dalman, G.R. No. 140335, December 13, 2000, the Supreme Court En Banc, Pardo, J., writing for the Court.
Petitioner Thelma P. Gaminde was appointed ad interim Commissioner of the Civil Service Commission (CSC) on June 11, 1993, assumed office June 22, 1993, and was confirmed by the Commission on Appointments on September 7, 1993. Her appointment paper expressly stated that her term would expire on February 2, 1999. On February 24, 1998, petitioner sought clarification from the Office of the President about her terminal date; the Chief Presidential Legal Counsel replied April 7, 1998, opining that her term would expire on February 2, 2000.
Relying on the April 7, 1998 letter, petitioner continued to serve beyond February 2, 1999. On February 4, 1999, CSC Chairman Corazon Alma G. de Leon asked the Commission on Audit (COA) whether petitioner and her co-terminous staff could be paid notwithstanding the alleged expiration. The COA General Counsel opined on February 18, 1999 that Gaminde’s term had expired on February 2, 1999, as stated in her appointment paper. Thereafter CSC Resident Auditor issued Notice of Disallowance No. 99-002-101 dated March 24, 1999, disallowing in audit the salaries and emoluments pertaining to petitioner and her co-terminous staff effective February 2, 1999.
Petitioner appealed administratively to the COA en banc. On June 15, 1999 the COA issued Decision No. 99-090 dismissing her appeal and affirming the disallowance; petitioner’s motion for reconsideration was denied in Decision No. 99-129 dated August 17, 1999. The COA reasoned that the appointment paper fixed February 2, 1999 as the terminal date and that COA could not recognize any extension of term even by implied acquiescence of the Office of the President.
Petitioner filed a petition for certiorari under Rule 65, seeking annulment of the COA decisions. The Solicitor General filed a manifestation supporting ...(Pro-only)
Issues:
- Did petitioner Thelma P. Gaminde’s term as Commissioner of the Civil Service Commission expire on February 2, 1999 as stated in her appointment paper, or on February 2, 2000 as claimed by her and the Office of th...(Pro-only)
Ruling:
- (Pro-only)
Ratio:
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Doctrine:
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