G.R. No. 127501 , May 5, 2000
CONRADO C. SALVADOR, petitioner, vs. COURT OF APPEALS (SPECIAL SIXTH DIVISION), HON. FULGENCIO S. FACTORAN, as the Secretary of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources, HON. GUILLERMO N. CARAGUE, as the Secretary of the Department of Budget and Management and THE CIVIL SERVICE COMMISSION, respondents.

FACTS

Petitioner Conrado C. Salvador was a permanent employee of the DENR since 1964. Following the 1987 reorganization under E.O. No. 192, his position was converted to coterminous, ending December 31, 1991. He was later appointed to a lower-ranked permanent position in 1992. Salvador intervened in the case of his co-employees, docketed as G.R. No. 103121 , which challenged their illegal termination. The Supreme Court, in a final and executory 1993 Decision, declared the removal of the petitioners and intervenors null and void, ordering their reinstatement to former or equivalent positions without loss of seniority and benefits, and the issuance of regular appointments.
Despite this final ruling and a subsequent Civil Service Commission resolution directing compliance, the DENR failed to reinstate Salvador. When a position equivalent to his former one became vacant, the DENR appointed another person. Salvador filed a motion to cite certain DENR and CSC officials for contempt for defying the Court’s decision.

ISSUE

Whether the Court of Appeals erred in denying Salvador’s motion and in ruling that he was no longer covered by the final decision in G.R. No. 103121 because he had accepted a subsequent permanent appointment.

RULING

The Supreme Court granted the petition and reversed the Court of Appeals. The legal logic is clear: the final and executory decision in G.R. No. 103121 categorically ordered the reinstatement of all petitioners and intervenors, including Salvador, to their former or equivalent positions with the issuance of regular appointments. This Court’s decision constituted the law of the case and imposed a ministerial duty on the DENR to comply. The Court of Appeals’ interpretation that Salvador was excluded because he later accepted a different permanent position was a substantive error. It effectively amended the final judgment, which is beyond its authority. A final judgment cannot be altered, and compliance with it is mandatory.
However, the Court denied the motion to cite respondents in contempt. For disobedience to be punishable as contempt, it must be willful. The Court found that the public respondents, while committing an error in judgment by refusing reinstatement, acted in good faith. Therefore, their non-compliance, though incorrect, did not rise to the level of contumacious conduct warranting contempt sanctions. The DENR was ordered to strictly comply with the decision in G.R. No. 103121 .