G.R. No. 146527 - Republic vs. Manna Properties Inc.

Remedios Pastor was appointed as Budget Officer of the Municipality (later City) of Pasig on May 1, 1986, with her appointment confirmed by the Department of Budget and Management on July 17, 1987.
On July 6, 1992, following the election of Mayor Vicente P. Eusebio, Pastor was relieved from her position as Municipal Budget Officer and reassigned to the Office of the Municipal Administrator pending an investigation into allegations that she had issued Advice of Allotments without sufficient cash collections.
The reassignment was justified by Mayor Eusebio as being in the interest of public service, citing an adverse report and the exigencies of service while emphasizing that the move was temporary and that no reduction in rank, status, or salary was involved.

In March 1995, after three years with no investigation initiated regarding the aforementioned charges, Pastor requested reinstatement to her former position as Budget Officer. Instead of being reinstated, she was reassigned again—to conduct an in-depth evaluation and study at the Pasig City Hall Annex.
Responding to her complaint that her prolonged reassignment and removal of her name from the City Budget Office payroll (for a specific period in October 1995) constituted oppression and abuse of authority, the Civil Service Commission (CSC) intervened.
On December 6, 1995, City Administrator Atty. Reynaldo P. Dionisio issued a memorandum further assigning Pastor additional tasks, which included studying operational improvements in budgeting, disbursement procedures, and revenue enhancement strategies.

In Resolution No. 96-1190 dated February 5, 1996, the CSC ordered Pastor’s reinstatement, holding that her reassignment was not justified beyond a temporary exigency and that she should be returned to her former position or assigned as head of a department.
The city government subsequently designated her as head of the Pasig City Hall Annex; however, Pastor contended that this assignment was not supported by a corresponding plantilla or ordinance, noting that the Annex was merely a small extension facility.
In Resolution No. 97-2845 dated May 20, 1997, the CSC clarified that the office in the Annex was not a line department of the City Government but rather an extension of the City Hall. The resolution further ordered that further successive reassignments be stopped because her prolonged displacement from the Budget Office compromised her security of tenure.

Respondent City of Pasig filed a petition for a writ of certiorari with the Court of Appeals, challenging the CSC’s decision and asserting that Pastor’s reassignment was a valid exercise of the city’s extraordinary powers.
The Court of Appeals, on January 15, 1999, set aside CSC Resolution No. 99-0200, ruling that Pastor’s reassignment—both to the Office of the Municipal Administrator and later as head of the Pasig City Hall Annex—was permissible as it did not result in any reduction of rank, status, or salary.
Despite procedural issues raised by Pastor regarding lack of service and impleading, her contention centered on the fact that her prolonged and indefinite reassignment amounted to a constructive removal from the position of Budget Officer.

Whether the reassignment and subsequent prolonged detail of Remedios Pastor from her original position as City Budget Officer, without a pending investigation or adjudication, constitute a violation of her security of tenure under Civil Service laws.

Whether the prolonged reassignment, lasting nearly a decade, amounts to a de facto removal without just cause.
Whether the alleged diminution in rank, status, and responsibilities can legally be justified as a temporary reassignment in the exigency of service.

Whether the petition for certiorari filed by the City of Pasig was procedurally and substantively proper, considering the requirements to implead the adverse party and provide proper service as mandated by the Rules of Civil Procedure.

The issue of whether the City of Pasig had the requisite personality to file the petition in light of the CSC decisions and the established principle of being “adversely affected.”
Whether the failure to serve Pastor with a copy of the petition or include her as an adverse party constitutes a violation of due process.

Whether the reassignments in question were made in compliance with the Administrative Code of 1987 (Executive Order No. 292) and other applicable rules protecting the security of tenure of civil servants.