SIXTO S. BRILLANTES, JR. vs. HAYDEE B. YORAC, in her capacity as ACTING CHAIRPERSON of the COMMISSION ON ELECTIONS
G.R. No. 93867, December 18, 1990, Cruz J.
Article IX-A, Section 1, of the Constitution expressly describes all the Constitutional Commissions as "independent." Although essentially executive in nature, they are not under the control of the President of the Philippines in the discharge of their respective functions. Each of these Commissions conducts its own proceedings under the applicable laws and its own rules and in the exercise of its own discretion.
Facts:
Sixto Brillantes Jr (Brillantes) herein petitioner assails the legality of the action of the President in appointing Associate Commissioner Haydee Yorac (Yorac) as acting Chairman of the COMELEC when then Chairman Hilario Davide was named chairman of the fact-finding commission to investigate a coup d’ etat attempt.
Sixto argues that the President has no authority to appoint an official of an independent commission created by the Constitution such as the COMELEC and therefore such act is void for having been made outside the ambit of law. Hence this petition.
Whether the action of the President in appointing Assoc. Comm. Yorac as Chairman of the COMELEC was valid.
Ruling:
NO. The choice of a temporary chairman in the absence of the regular chairman comes under that discretion. That discretion cannot be exercised for it, even with its consent, by the President of the Philippines.
A designation as Acting Chairman is by its very terms essentially temporary and therefore revocable at will. No cause need be established to justify its revocation. Assuming its validity, the designation of the respondent as Acting Chairman of the Commission on Elections may be withdrawn by the President of the Philippines at any time and for whatever reason she sees fit. It is doubtful if the respondent, having accepted such designation, will not be estopped from challenging its withdrawal.
It is true, as the Solicitor General points out, that the respondent cannot be removed at will from her permanent position as Associate Commissioner. It is no less true, however, that she can be replaced as Acting Chairman, with or without cause, and thus deprived of the powers and perquisites of that temporary position.
The lack of a statutory rule covering the situation at bar is no justification for the President of the Philippines to fill the void by extending the temporary designation in favor of the respondent. This is still a government of laws and not of men. The problem allegedly sought to be corrected, if it existed at all, did not call for presidential action. The situation could have been handled by the members of the Commission on Elections themselves without the participation of the President, however well-meaning.
_____________________________________________________________________________________________ _________________________________
THELMA P. GAMINDE v. COMMISSION ON AUDIT and/or Hon. CELSO D. GANGAN, Hon. RAUL C. FLORES and EMMANUEL M. DALMAN
G.R. No. 140335, December 13, 2000, Pardo J.
The operation of the rotational plan requires two conditions, both indispensable to its workability: (1) that the terms of the first three (3) Commissioners should start on a common date, and, (2) that any vacancy due to death, resignation or disability before the expiration of the term should only be filled only for the unexpired balance of the term. Consequently, the terms of the first Chairmen and Commissioners of the Constitutional Commissions under the 1987 Constitution must start on a common date, irrespective of the variations in the dates of appointments and qualifications of the appointees, in order that the expiration of the first terms of seven, five and three years should lead to the regular recurrence of the two-year interval between the expiration of the terms.
Facts:
On June 11, 1993, the President appointed Thelma Gaminde (Gaminde) herein petitioner as ad interim Commissioner of the Civil Service Commission (CSC). Verily, her appointment letter provides that her term would expire on February 2, 1999 pursuant to provisions of existing law. Come February 24, 1998, Gaminde sought clarification from the President as to the date of the end of her term in office. The Chief Presidential Legal Counsel opined that Gaminde’s term of office would expire on February 2, 2000 and not on February 2, 1999. Thereafter, Gaminde remained in office after February 2, 1999. Subsequently, the Commission on Audit (COA) questioned the extension of Gaminde’s term.
Since as per her appointment letter, Gaminde’s term of office should have been only until February 2, 1999.
Issue:
Whether the term of Gaminde expired on February 2, 1999 as per her letter of appointment.
Ruling:
YES. The term of office of Gaminde expired on February 2, 1999. The term of office of the Chairman and members of the Civil Service Commission is prescribed in the 1987 Constitution, as follows:
"Section 1 (2). The Chairman and the Commissioners shall be appointed by the President with the consent of the Commission on Appointments for a term of seven years without reappointment. Of those first appointed, the Chairman shall hold office for seven years, a Commissioner for five years, and another Commissioner for three years, without reappointment. Appointment to any vacancy shall be only for the unexpired term of the predecessor. In no case shall any Member be appointed or designated in a temporary or acting capacity."
In a string of cases, we said that "the operation of the rotational plan requires two conditions, both indispensable to its workability: (1) that the terms of the first three (3) Commissioners should start on a common date, and, (2) that any vacancy due to death, resignation or disability before the expiration of the term should only be filled only for the unexpired balance of the term."
Consequently, the terms of the first Chairmen and Commissioners of the Constitutional Commissions under the 1987 Constitution must start on a common date, irrespective of the variations in the dates of appointments and qualifications of the appointees, in order that the expiration of the first terms of seven, five and three years should lead to the regular recurrence of the two-year interval between the expiration of the terms.
On June 11, 1993, the President appointed Atty. Thelma P. Gaminde Commissioner, Civil Service Commission, for a term expiring February 02, 1999. This terminal date is specified in her appointment paper. On September 07, 1993, the Commission on Appointments confirmed the appointment. She accepted the appointment and assumed office on June 22, 1993. She is bound by the term of the appointment she accepted, expiring February 02, 1999. In this connection, the letter dated April 07, 1998, of Deputy Executive Secretary Renato C. Corona clarifying that her term would expire on February 02, 2000, was in error. What was submitted to the Commission on Appointments was a nomination for a term expiring on February 02, 1999. Thus, the term of her successor must be deemed to start on February 02, 1999, and expire on February 02, 2006.
_____________________________________________________________________________________________ _________________________________
DENNIS A. B. FUNA v. THE CHAIRMAN, COMMISSION ON AUDIT, REYNALDO A. VILLAR
G.R. No. 192791, April 24, 2012, Velasco J.
Appointments to vacancies resulting from certain causes (death, resignation, disability or impeachment) shall only be for the unexpired portion of the term of the
predecessor, but such appointments cannot be less than the unexpired portion as this will likewise disrupt the staggering of terms laid down under Sec. 1(2), Art. IX(D).
Facts:
On February 15, 2001, President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo (President Macapagal- Arroyo) appointed Guillermo N. Carague (Carague) as Chairman of the Commission on Audit (COA) for a term of seven (7) years. Carague’s term of office started on February 2, 2001 to end on February 2, 2008.
Meanwhile, on February 7, 2004, President Macapagal-Arroyo appointed Reynaldo A. Villar (Villar) as the third member of the COA for a term of seven (7) years starting February 2, 2004 until February 2, 2011.Following the retirement of Carague on February 2, 2008 and during the fourth year of Villar as COA Commissioner, Villar was designated as Acting Chairman of COA from February 4, 2008 to April 14, 2008. Subsequently, on April 18, 2008, Villar was nominated and appointed as Chairman of the COA. Shortly thereafter, on June 11, 2008, the Commission on Appointments confirmed his appointment. He was to serve as Chairman of COA, as expressly indicated in the appointment papers, until the expiration of the original term of his office as COA Commissioner or on February 2, 2011.
Villar, insists that his appointment as COA Chairman accorded him a fresh term of seven (7) years which is yet to lapse. He would argue, in fine, that his term of office, as such chairman, is up to February 2, 2015, or 7 years reckoned from February 2, 2008 when he was appointed to that position.
Now, Dennis Funa (Funa) assails the constitutionality of Villar's appointment as Chairman of COA on the ground that an appointee of a vacant office shall only serve the unexpired portion of the term of the vacated office. Hence this petition.
Issue:
Whether the appointment of Villars as Chairman was unconstitutional. Ruling:
YES. The appointment of members of any of the three constitutional commissions, after the expiration of the uneven terms of office of the first set of commissioners, shall always be for a fixed term of seven (7) years; an appointment for a lesser period is void and unconstitutional. The appointing authority cannot validly shorten the full term of seven (7) years in case of the expiration of the term as this will result in the distortion of the rotational system prescribed by the Constitution. Appointments to vacancies resulting from certain causes (death, resignation, disability or impeachment) shall only be for the unexpired portion of the term of the predecessor, but such appointments cannot be less than the unexpired portion as this will likewise disrupt the staggering of terms laid down under Sec. 1(2), Art. IX(D). Members of the Commission, e.g. COA, COMELEC or CSC, who were appointed for a full term of seven years and who served the entire period, are barred from reappointment to any position in the Commission. Corollary, the first appointees in the Commission under the Constitution are also covered by the prohibition against reappointment. A commissioner who resigns after serving in the Commission for less than seven years is eligible for an appointment to the position of Chairman for the unexpired portion of the term of the departing chairman. Such appointment is not covered by the ban on reappointment, provided that the aggregate period of the length of service as commissioner and the unexpired period of the term of the predecessor will not exceed seven (7) years and provided further that the vacancy in the position of Chairman resulted from death, resignation, disability or removal by impeachment. The Court clarifies that
"reappointment" found in Sec. 1(2), Art. IX(D) means a movement to one and the same office (Commissioner to Commissioner or Chairman to Chairman). On the other hand, an appointment involving a movement to a different position or office (Commissioner to Chairman) would constitute a new appointment and, hence, not, in the strict legal sense, a reappointment barred under the Constitution. Any member of the Commission cannot be appointed or designated in a temporary or acting capacity.
Thus, Villar’s appointment as chairman ending February 2, 2011 which Justice Mendoza considers as valid is likewise unconstitutional, as it will destroy the rationale and policy behind the rotational system or the staggering of appointments and terms in COA as prescribed in the Constitution. It disturbs in a way the staggered rotational system of appointment under Sec. 1(2), Art. IX(D) of the 1987 Constitution.
_____________________________________________________________________________________________ _________________________________
DENNIS A. B. FUNA v. THE CHAIRMAN, CIVIL SERVICE COMMISSION (CSC), FRANCISCO T. DUQUE III, EXECUTIVE SECRETARY LEANDRO R. MENDOZA, OFFICE