A.M. No. P-11-2927 - Leave Division, Office of Administrative Services-OCA vs. Wilma Salvacion P. Heusdens

On January 1, 1953, Enrique Sison, then Mayor of Bamban, Tarlac, appointed Bonifacio Lacanlale as Acting Chief of Police with an annual salary of P1,080.00.
Lacanlale was reappointed on April 1, 1955, continuing in the acting capacity as a veteran and non-civil service eligible.

On June 29, 1957, Mayor Sison recalled Lacanlale and cancelled his appointment effective 4:00 p.m. of the same day.
Simultaneously, Patrolman Pablo L. Santos, Jr. was designated as the replacement for Lacanlale, despite also being a veteran and non-eligible for civil service.

Lacanlale sought an opinion from the Commissioner of Civil Service regarding the legality of his recall; the inquiry was forwarded to Mayor Sison for comment.
On October 22, 1957, Mayor Sison opined that due to alleged inefficiency and incompetence, it was best to recall Lacanlale.
Lacanlale also wrote to the President on July 9, 1957, requesting his reinstatement and an investigation into Mayor Sison’s action.
The Executive Secretary referred this request to Governor Arsenio Lugay on July 19, 1957, prompting an investigation by the Provincial Board of Tarlac conducted on January 8 and 27, 1958.
The investigation concluded with the Board ruling the separation of Lacanlale as illegal and recommended his immediate reinstatement along with payment of back salaries.

On April 28, 1958, the Executive Secretary directed the Governor to require Mayor Sison to reinstate Lacanlale immediately, emphasizing that the replacement of Lacanlale by Santos, Jr. was illegal under Republic Act No. 65 as amended.
Despite the directive and a subsequent threat of insubordination charges from the Provincial Governor, Mayor Sison refused to reinstate Lacanlale.
On September 8, 1958, appellants (Mayor Sison and Santos, Jr. in their respective capacities) filed an action for a writ of preliminary injunction, seeking to restrain the compelled reinstatement and the filing of charges against Sison.
The lower court initially issued a writ of preliminary injunction on October 20, 1958 and later rendered a decision after a series of hearings, which was then reconsidered on April 29, 1960 to grant a new trial.
Appellants introduced newly discovered evidence (such as Santos, Jr.’s civil service examination results and subsequent reappointment details); however, this evidence was deemed insufficient to alter the outcome.
The legal controversy eventually centered on the legality of Lacanlale’s removal and whether his position, underpinning the entitlement to back salaries, was unlawfully vacated.

The opposition included submissions by the Executive Secretary, who argued that Santos, Jr.’s appointment was void ab initio and that the replacement conflicted with the statutory preference for veterans.
Various exhibits (A, 1-A, B, 5, 5-A, 6 series, D, E, F, F-1, H, and later exhibits N, O, S, etc.) documented the sequence of events and supported the investigation findings.
A motion filed on November 19, 1964, later resulted in the substitution of Lacanlale’s heirs for purposes of receiving back salaries, pending the appointment of a judicial administrator of his estate.
The entire process underscored the administrative and jurisprudential conflict regarding the proper implementation of statutory provisions on appointments and removals, particularly as they pertain to veterans.

Whether the dismissal and replacement of Bonifacio Lacanlale as Acting Chief of Police of Bamban, Tarlac, by Mayor Enrique Sison was legally valid.
Whether the fact that Lacanlale held only an acting appointment justified his removal at the mayor’s discretion on grounds of inefficiency and incompetence.

Whether the statutory provisions under Republic Act No. 65 (as amended) and Republic Act No. 1363, which mandate preference for veterans, confer upon Lacanlale the right not only to be appointed but also to retain his position until a certified civil service eligible is available.
Whether replacing Lacanlale with Pablo L. Santos, Jr., also a veteran but not the duly certified eligible, was in violation of these provisions.

Whether the reappointment of Pablo L. Santos, Jr., on January 17, 1959, after he passed the civil service examination, could retroactively validate the illegal removal of Lacanlale.

Whether the lower court erred in extending the remedy to include payment of back salaries despite the municipality of Bamban not being fully impleaded.
The implications of treating an illegal removal as not having legally vacated the position for purposes of salary entitlement.