G.R. No. L-43182 November 25, 1986
MARCIAL F. SAMSON, City Mayor of Caloocan City, THE CITY TREASURER, THE CITY AUDITOR, both of Caloocan City, and HERMOGENES LIWAG, petitioners, vs. THE HONORABLE COURT OF APPEALS, CFI-RIZAL and FELICIANO C. TALENS, respondents.

FACTS

Private respondent Feliciano C. Talens, a civil service eligible, was permanently appointed as Assistant Secretary to the Mayor of Caloocan City in 1970. His appointment was duly attested by the Commissioner of Civil Service. Upon assuming office, petitioner Mayor Marcial F. Samson issued Administrative Order No. 3 on January 10, 1972, summarily terminating Talens’s services on the ground of “lack and loss of confidence.” The order cited Section 5(f) of Republic Act No. 2260 (the Civil Service Act of 1959), which declares the positions of secretaries to city mayors as non-competitive. Mayor Samson interpreted this provision to include the position of Assistant Secretary. Talens contested his removal, arguing his position was not among those expressly declared non-competitive and that, as a permanent appointee, he could only be removed for cause and with due process.
The Court of First Instance ruled in favor of Talens, declaring the administrative order null and void, ordering his reinstatement, and directing the payment of his back salaries and emoluments. This decision was affirmed by the Court of Appeals. Petitioners elevated the case to the Supreme Court, maintaining that the termination was legal as the position was inherently confidential and covered by the statutory enumeration for non-competitive service.

ISSUE

Whether the position of Assistant Secretary to the Mayor is primarily confidential, placing it within the non-competitive service and thus subject to removal at the pleasure of the appointing authority.

RULING

The Supreme Court affirmed the lower courts’ decisions, ruling the termination illegal. The legal logic centers on statutory construction and the nature of the position. Section 5 of R.A. 2260, as amended, enumerates specific positions within the non-competitive service, including “secretaries of provincial governors, city mayors and municipal mayors.” The Court held that an “assistant secretary” is distinct from a “secretary”; the law’s specific mention of the latter does not extend by implication to the former. The general purpose of the civil service law is to ensure appointments based on merit and fitness. Exceptions, such as confidential positions removable at pleasure, must be expressly declared or their confidential nature must be inherent and primary.
The Court found the position of Assistant Secretary to the Mayor was not shown to be primarily confidential. While it may involve handling some confidential matters, its duties were described as mainly clerical or routine. The element of trust and confidence reposed in a principal secretary is not automatically vested in an assistant, whose role is to aid. The permanent, civil service-eligible status of Talens required that removal be only for cause and with due process, which was not observed. Therefore, Administrative Order No. 3 was invalid. The Court modified the award of back salaries to a period of three years without qualification, in light of Talens’s subsequent death.