Case Digest: OFFICE OF THE OMBUDSMAN v. CIVIL SERVICE COMMISSION 451 SCRA 570 (2005)

OFFICE OF THE OMBUDSMAN v. CIVIL SERVICE COMMISSION 451 SCRA 570 (2005)

Melchor Carandang, Paul Elmer Clemente and Jose Tereso De Jesus, Jr., were appointed Graft Investigation Officers III of the Office of the Ombudsman. The Civil Service Commission (CSC) approved the appointments on the condition that for the appointees to acquire security of tenure, they must first obtain a Career Executive Service (CES). The Ombudsman requested to the CSC for the change of status from temporary to permanent, of the appointments of Carandang, Clemente and De Jesus, emphasizing that since the Office of the Ombudsman is not governed by the Career Executive Service Board, security of tenure can be granted despite the absence of CES eligibility. CSC changed the status of Carandang‘s and Clemente‘s appointments to permanent but not with respect to De Jesus on the ground that he “has not met the eligibility requirements. Hence, this petition for ceritiorari filed by the Office of the Ombudsman seeking to nullify the CSC Resolution.

ISSUE:

Whether or not the general power of the Civil Service Commission to administer civil service cannot validly curtail the specific discretionary power of appointment including the grant of security of tenure by the Office of the Ombudsman

HELD:

Book V, Title I, Subtitle A of the Administrative Code of 1987 provides persons occupying positions in the CES are presidential appointees. A person occupying the position of Graft Investigation Officer III is not, however, appointed by the President but by the Ombudsman as provided in Article IX of the Constitution. To classify the position of Graft Investigation Officer III as belonging to the CES and require an appointee thereto to acquire CES or CSE eligibility before acquiring security of tenure would be absurd as it would result either in 1) vesting the appointing power for said position in the President, in violation of the Constitution; or 2) including in the CES a position not occupied by a presidential appointee, contrary to the Administrative Code. It bears emphasis that that under P.D. No 807, Sec. 9(h) which authorizes the CSC to approve appointments to positions in the civil service, except those specified therein, its authority is limited “only to [determine] whether or not the appointees possess the legal qualifications and the appropriate eligibility, nothing else.”11 It is not disputed that, except for his lack of CES or CSE eligibility, De Jesus possesses the basic qualifications of a Graft Investigation Officer III, as provided in the earlier quoted Qualification Standards. Such being the case, the CSC has the ministerial duty to grant the request of the Ombudsman that appointment be made permanent effective December 18, 2002. To refuse to heed the request is a clear encroachment on the discretion vested solely on the Ombudsman as appointing authority. It goes without saying that the status of the appointments of Carandang and Clemente, who were conferred CSE eligibility pursuant to CSC Resolution No. 03-0665 dated June 6, 2003, should be changed to permanent effective December 18, 2002 too.