Case Digest (G.R. No. 84301)
Facts:
National Land Titles and Deeds Registration Administration v. Civil Service Commission and Violeta L. Garcia, G.R. No. 84301, April 07, 1993, the Supreme Court En Banc, Campos, Jr., J., writing for the Court.Petitioner is the National Land Titles and Deeds Registration Administration (NALTDRA); respondents are the Civil Service Commission (CSC) and Violeta L. Garcia (private respondent). The dispute concerns whether the Bar‑membership qualification prescribed by Executive Order No. 649 for appointment as Deputy Register of Deeds applies to incumbents who occupied such posts before EO 649 took effect.
In 1977 Garcia, a Bachelor of Laws graduate and first grade civil service eligible, was appointed Deputy Register of Deeds VII in the Land Registration Commission (LRC) under permanent status; pursuant to PD 1529 her position was later reclassified to Deputy Register of Deeds III, which she held under permanent status until September 1984. She acted for about two years as Acting Branch Register of Deeds of Meycauayan, Bulacan. EO No. 649, effecting the reorganization of the LRC into the NALTDRA, took effect on February 9, 1981.
Because Garcia was not a member of the Philippine Bar, she was issued a temporary appointment as Deputy Register of Deeds II on October 1, 1984; her appeal to the Secretary of Justice and her motion for reconsideration were denied. On October 23, 1984 she was administratively charged with Conduct Prejudicial to the Best Interest of the Service; while that charge was pending her temporary appointment was renewed in 1985. A Memorandum dated October 30, 1986 terminated her services effective February 9, 1987 on the ground she was "receiving bribe money." Her appeal was referred by the Inter‑Agency Review Committee to the Merit Systems Protection Board (MSPB), which in an Order dated July 6, 1987 dropped her appeal on the ground that her separation was due to expiration of a temporary appointment; a motion for reconsideration was denied.
In Resolution No. 88‑398 (June 30, 1988) the CSC directed Garcia's restoration to the position of Deputy Register of Deeds II or its equivalent in the NALTDRA, invoking the "vested right theory" and holding that the new Bar‑membership requirement should apply only to filling vacant lawyer positions on or after February 9, 1981. Petitioner NALTDRA filed the present petition to assail the CSC Resolution, contending that Sections 8 and 10 of Executive Order No....(Subscriber-Only)
Issues:
- Does the Bar‑membership qualification prescribed by Executive Order No. 649 for appointment as Deputy Register of Deeds apply to incumbents who occupied deputy register of deeds positions in the LRC before EO No. 649 took effect, or only to ...(Subscriber-Only)
Ruling:
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Ratio:
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Doctrine:
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