Case Digest (G.R. No. 146873)
Facts:
Petitioner Remedios Pastor was appointed Budget Officer of the Municipality (now City) of Pasig on May 1, 1986. In July 1992, Mayor Vicente Eusebio relieved and reassigned her to the Office of the Municipal Administrator pending investigation for allegedly issuing Advice of Allotments without sufficient cash collections; no formal investigation was thereafter instituted and petitioner remained on various details, including as head of the Pasig City Hall Annex.
Petitioner filed a complaint with the Civil Service Commission in October 1995 which ordered her reinstatement in Resolution No. 96-1190, a clarification and further orders followed, and the City of Pasig appealed to the Court of Appeals without impleading petitioner; the Court of Appeals set aside the CSC resolutions, prompting this petition for certiorari to the Supreme Court.
Issues:
- Did the Court of Appeals err in setting aside the Civil Service Commission's order reinstating Petitioner?
- Did the City of Pasig have the legal personality to appeal the CSC resolutions and did the CA err in not dismissing for failure to implead and serve Petitioner?
- Was Petitioner’s prolonged reassignment more than temporary and thus a constructive removal from her position as Budget Officer?
Ruling:
The Court granted the petition, set aside the decision of the Court of Appeals, and ordered the immediate reinstatement of Remedios Pastor to her original position as Budget Officer of the City of Pasig. The Court held that, although appeals from the CSC must comply with Rule 43 procedural requirements, the City nevertheless had sufficient personality to file the petition.
Ratio:
The Court relied on Book V, Title I, Subtitle A, 26(7) of E.O. No. 292, which permits reassignment only if it does not reduce rank, status, or salary, and on the principle that an indefinite reassignment that effects diminution of rank constitutes a constructive removal. Petitioner’s near ten-year detail, the absence of any genuine investigation, and the lesser statutory and functional status of the Pasig City Hall Annex showed that the reassignment was more than temporary and amounted to removal without cause; accordingly the CSC’s reinstatement orders were correct.
Doctrine:
- Under E.O. No. 292 Book V, an employee may be reassigned within the same agency provided there is no reduction in rank, status, or salary.
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