Title
Sarcos vs. Castillo
Case
G.R. No. L-29755
Decision Date
Jan 31, 1969
A mayor was preventively suspended by a governor for alleged timber-related misconduct, but the Supreme Court ruled that only the provincial board holds such authority under the Decentralization Act.
provincial governor
preventive suspension
municipal mayor

Case Summary (G.R. No. L-29755)

Factual Background

Petitioner Domingo N. Sarcos was the duly elected Municipal Mayor of Barobo, Surigao del Sur, having run as an independent candidate in the November 14, 1967 election. Respondent Governor Recaredo Castillo filed charges alleging that petitioner connived with private individuals to cut and sell timber taken from the communal forest reserve of Barobo, to the damage of the public and the government. The Municipal Council filed a charge under oath on April 18, 1968. By an order dated May 21, 1968, the Governor afforded petitioner seventy-two hours to answer and explain. Petitioner replied that the logs had been seized by his patrolmen and sold to raise funds for police uniforms and arms. On October 4, 1968, respondent Governor filed an administrative complaint with the Provincial Board and issued an administrative order effecting the immediate preventive suspension of petitioner and designating Vice-Mayor Brigido L. Mercader as Acting Mayor.

Procedural Posture

Petitioner sought relief by petition for certiorari and prohibition challenging the validity of the Governor's preventive suspension order. Respondents admitted the filing of the complaint and the issuance of the suspension order but justified the suspension as an exercise of authority under Section 5 of Republic Act No. 5185. The Court framed the controlling legal question as whether the provincial governor retains power to order preventive suspension of an elective municipal official under the Decentralization Act.

Statutory Provision at Issue

Section 5 of Republic Act No. 5185 declares that the suspension and removal of elective local officials shall be governed exclusively by its provisions. The statute prescribes the proper forum where charges shall be preferred, provides for notice within seven days, requires hearing and investigation within ten days, prohibits investigation within ninety days prior to an election, and limits any preventive suspension to sixty days, with reinstatement thereafter unless delay is attributable to the suspended officer. The section also provides that if the suspended officer is found guilty before the expiration of thirty days, his suspension in the case of municipal and barrio officials may continue until final disposition by the Provincial Board. The Court emphasized that, read as a whole, the provision indicates that the Provincial Board is the body entrusted with hearing, investigation, and related powers, rather than the provincial governor acting unilaterally.

Parties' Contentions

Petitioner contended that under the Decentralization Act the authority to hear and investigate charges against municipal elective officials, and incidents of that authority such as preventive suspension, are vested in the Provincial Board and not in the provincial governor, thereby rendering the Governor's suspension order unauthorized. Respondent Governor asserted that the admitted acts affected petitioner's official integrity and that there was an urgent necessity for preventive suspension in accordance with Section 5 of Republic Act No. 5185.

Legal Issue

The singular legal issue presented was whether the provincial governor is vested with the power to order the preventive suspension of an elective municipal official under Section 5 of Republic Act No. 5185, as amended by the Decentralization Act of 1967.

Court's Statutory Construction and Principle

The Court held that the Decentralization Act governs exclusively the suspension and removal of elective local officials and that its language must control. The Court contrasted the present statute with the former law, Section 2188, Revised Administrative Code, under which the provincial governor could suspend an officer pending action by the Provincial Board when the charge affected official integrity. The Court found that Congress employed different language in Section 5, thus indicating a change in the law and an intent to reallocate authority. The Court invoked the settled rule that deliberate selection of different statutory language evidences a legislative change and relied on authorities, domestic and foreign, to support purposive construction.

Court's Reasoning on Administrative Power and Purpose

The Court reiterated the constitutional principle that public officials possess powers, not rights, and that such powers must be granted either expressly or by necessary implication. Absent statutory grant, executive action lacks validity. The Decentralization Act's declaration of policy—to transform local governments into effective instruments for self-government by granting local governments greater freedom and ampler means—compelled a construction that vests autonomy and remedial functions appropriately in local collective bodies. The Court emphasized that strict construction applies to laws relating to suspension and removal of elective officials, citing Lacson v. Roque, and that municipal autonomy requires that elected officials serve out their terms unless removed by the specific procedure and officials designated by law.

Consideration of Practical Consequences

The Court reasoned that allowing the provincial governor unilateral power to suspend municipal elective officials would risk partisan harassment and the misuse of authority. The Court observed that the Provincial Board, as a collective body composed differently by class of province under Section 5, Republic Act No. 2264, provides a safeguard against partisan abuse that a single executive actor does not. The Court therefore favored the statutory construction that minimizes opportunities for political exploitation and best effectuates the Decentralization Act's purpose.

Decision and Disposition

The Court held that under Section 5 of Repu

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