G.R. No. 139821; January 30, 2002
DR. ELEANOR A. OSEA, petitioner, vs. DR. CORAZON E. MALAYA, respondent.

FACTS

Petitioner Dr. Eleanor Osea filed a protest with the Civil Service Commission (CSC) seeking to nullify the appointment of respondent Dr. Corazon Malaya as Schools Division Superintendent of Camarines Sur. Osea alleged that Malaya’s appointment by then President Fidel V. Ramos violated Section 99 of the Local Government Code (LGC) of 1991, which mandates that the Department of Education, Culture and Sports (DECS) consult the local school board on the appointment of division superintendents. Osea, who had been appointed Officer-in-Charge, Assistant Schools Division Superintendent and was endorsed by the Provincial School Board, argued that the lack of prior consultation rendered Malaya’s appointment void.
The CSC dismissed Osea’s protest. It found that President Ramos had appointed Malaya as Schools Division Superintendent without a specific station in 1996. Subsequently, DECS Secretary Ricardo Gloria designated Malaya to Camarines Sur and Osea to Iriga City in 1997. The CSC ruled that Section 99 of the LGC applies only to appointments made by the DECS, not by the President. It further held that Secretary Gloria’s action was a mere reassignment, not an appointment, thus not requiring consultation. The Court of Appeals affirmed the CSC’s decision.

ISSUE

Whether the appointment/designation of respondent Malaya as Schools Division Superintendent of Camarines Sur required prior consultation with the local school board under Section 99 of the Local Government Code.

RULING

The Supreme Court denied the petition and affirmed the lower courts’ rulings. The legal logic rests on a clear statutory interpretation and a distinction between appointment and reassignment. Section 99 of the LGC explicitly states that the “Department of Education, Culture and Sports shall consult the local school boards.” Applying the plain meaning rule (verba legis), the mandatory consultation applies only to appointments made by the DECS. At the time of the law’s enactment, DECS made such appointments. However, the positions were later placed under the Career Executive Service, vesting the appointing power in the President. President Ramos’s 1996 appointment of Malaya was a valid exercise of this constitutional power and was not specific to any station.
The subsequent designation by Secretary Gloria assigning Malaya to Camarines Sur was not a new appointment but a reassignment—a movement from one organizational unit to another without a reduction in rank or salary, which does not require a new appointment. Since a reassignment is not an appointment, the consultation requirement under Section 99 is inapplicable. The Court also noted that Osea’s own position was merely temporary, and she had no vested right to the Camarines Sur post, as she lacked a permanent appointment from the President. Therefore, no legal violation occurred.