Case Digest (G.R. No. 87146)
Facts:
Government Service Insurance System (GSIS) v. Hon. Civil Service Commission and Maria Asuncion Salazar, G.R. No. 87146, December 11, 1991, the Supreme Court En Banc, Medialdea, J., writing for the Court.Maria Asuncion Salazar began employment with GSIS as a casual laborer on September 23, 1968, became a permanent stenographer on February 28, 1974, and was later promoted to Confidential Technical Assistant Aide on December 9, 1975. GSIS records also show that on December 9, 1975 she was appointed Confidential Executive Assistant to GSIS President Roman A. Cruz, Jr., and on August 13, 1982 she was promoted to Technical Assistant III, the post she occupied when her services were terminated on May 16, 1986 by the newly appointed GSIS President and General Manager on the ground that her position was co-terminous with the appointing authority.
Salazar sought reconsideration before the GSIS Board of Trustees which denied relief; she then elevated the matter to the Review Committee created under Executive Order No. 17, which referred the petition to both the Merit Systems Protection Board (the Board) and the Civil Service Commission (CSC). On July 22, 1987 the CSC issued Resolution No. 87-230 directing Salazar’s immediate reinstatement with back pay; GSIS moved for reconsideration on September 14, 1987.
The Board, however, on March 9, 1988 found Salazar’s petition without merit and affirmed her termination, concluding the position was confidential and noncareer. Salazar moved for reconsideration and informed the Board of the CSC’s July 22, 1987 resolution; on June 30, 1988 the Board set aside its March 9, 1988 order in deference to the Commission’s prior resolution. GSIS moved for reconsideration of the Board’s June 30 order; on September 2, 1988 the Board denied that motion, reasoning that under Presidential Decree No. 1409 (PD 1409) Sections 2 and 8 the CSC is a higher administrative appellate body whose determinations the Board cannot modify.
GSIS appealed the Board’s September 2, 1988 order to the CSC. The CSC issued Resolution No. 88-825 on November 16, 1988 denying GSIS’s motions and reaffirming the reinstatement order, and on January 17, 1989 issued Resolution No. 89-031 denying GSIS’s appeal from the Board’s September 2, 1988 order and declaring its earlier resolution final and executory. GSIS then filed a petition for certiorari with the Supreme Court under Rule 65, arguing primarily (1) that the Merit Systems Board, not ...(Subscriber-Only)
Issues:
- Did the Civil Service Commission have jurisdiction to take original cognizance and issue resolutions in this personnel case, or was jurisdiction vested in the Merit Systems Protection Board?
- Was the post of Technical Assistant III held by Maria Asuncion Salazar primarily confidential (noncareer) in nature, such that her separation was co-terminous a...(Subscriber-Only)
Ruling:
- (Subscriber-Only)
Ratio:
- (Subscriber-Only)
Doctrine:
- (Subscriber-Only)