Case Digest (G.R. No. 72119)
Facts:
Valentin L. Legaspi v. Civil Service Commission, G.R. No. 72119, May 29, 1987, the Supreme Court En Banc, Cortes, J., writing for the Court.
Petitioner Valentin L. Legaspi filed a special civil action for the writ of Mandamus against the Civil Service Commission (CSC) seeking an order compelling the CSC to disclose whether two employees of the Cebu City Health Department, Julian Sibonghanoy and Mariano Agas, were civil service eligibles for the position of sanitarian. Legaspi alleged the two had represented themselves as civil service eligibles and he sought verification from the CSC.
The petition invoked the constitutional right of the people to information on matters of public concern and asserted there was no plain, speedy and adequate remedy other than Mandamus. The CSC denied Legaspi’s request; in response, the Solicitor General raised procedural objections before the Court, principally challenging Legaspi’s standing and contending that CSC had no ministerial duty to furnish the information.
No lower-court decisions are reported in the text; this proceeding was brought directly as a special civil action for Mandamus to the Supreme Court. The Court considered precedent including Tanada v. Tuvera, Subido v. Ozaeta, and Baldoza v. Dimaano, and analyzed the scope of constitutional guarantees found in Article IV, Section 6 of the 1973 Constitution and Article III, Section 7 (and Arti...(Pro-only)
Issues:
- Does petitioner have standing to seek Mandamus to enforce the constitutional right to information?
- Is the Civil Service Commission under a ministerial duty to confirm or deny the civil service eligibilities of the named employees such that Mandamus lies?
- Are the civil service eligibilities of public employees for the position of sanitarian information of public concern and not...(Pro-only)
Ruling:
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Ratio:
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Doctrine:
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