G.R. No. L-27524 July 31, 1970
JOSE C. TECSON, petitioner-appellant, vs. HON. RAFAEL SALAS, Executive Secretary, HON. ANTONIO V. RAQUIZA, Secretary of Public Works and Communications, HON. MARCIANO D. BAUTISTA, Undersecretary of Public Works and Communications, ALEJANDRO B. DELENA, Officer-In-Charge of the Bureau of Public Works, and FELIX V. BAGTAS, Assistant Superintendent of Dredging Bureau of Public Works, respondent-appellees.
FACTS
Petitioner Jose C. Tecson, Superintendent of Dredging in the Bureau of Public Works, filed a special civil action for certiorari and prohibition seeking to nullify his detail to the Office of the President. The detail order, dated October 14, 1966, was issued by Executive Secretary Rafael Salas “by authority of the President,” directing Tecson to report to Commodore Santiago Nuval, Presidential Assistant on Ports and Harbors, to assist in the San Fernando Port Project. Tecson contended this detail constituted removal from office without cause. The lower court sustained the respondents’ motion to dismiss, finding the detail valid. Tecson appealed, arguing the detail was a removal or transfer without consent contrary to constitutional provisions and disputing the President’s authority to order such detail under his power of control.
ISSUE
Whether the temporary detail of petitioner Jose C. Tecson from the Bureau of Public Works to the Office of the President, by presidential authority, constitutes an illegal removal or transfer from office without cause.
RULING
No. The Supreme Court affirmed the lower court’s order of dismissal. The detail was a valid exercise of the President’s constitutional power of control over all executive departments, bureaus, and offices. The Court held that the detail was not a removal, demotion, or disciplinary action. Tecson retained his position as Superintendent of Dredging with all its emoluments and privileges. The detail, made in the interest of public service and without reduction in rank or salary, was expressly permitted under Section 32 of the Civil Service Act of 1959, which stated that a transfer without reduction in rank or salary shall not be considered disciplinary when made in the interest of public service. The presidential directive, issued through the Executive Secretary, is presumptively the act of the Chief Executive and does not require subsequent approval by subordinate officials like the Budget Commissioner or the Commissioner of Civil Service.