GR 147870; (July, 2002) (Digest)
G.R. No. 147870 July 31, 2002
RAMIR R. PABLICO, petitioner, vs. ALEJANDRO A. VILLAPANDO, respondent.
FACTS
Respondent Alejandro Villapando, the elected Mayor of San Vicente, Palawan, faced an administrative complaint before the Sangguniang Panlalawigan for allegedly entering into a consultancy agreement with a defeated candidate within the one-year constitutional prohibition. The Sangguniang Panlalawigan found him guilty and imposed the penalty of dismissal from service. This decision was affirmed on appeal by the Office of the President. Consequently, petitioner Ramir Pablico, the Vice-Mayor, assumed the mayoralty.
Villapando challenged the decisions before the Court of Appeals, which declared void the dismissal orders from both the Sangguniang Panlalawigan and the Office of the President. The appellate court ordered Pablico to vacate the office. Pablico elevated the case to the Supreme Court via a petition for review. Although the mayoral term had expired, rendering the case moot, the Court resolved to decide the pivotal legal issue regarding the authority to dismiss elective officials.
ISSUE
May local legislative bodies (Sanggunian) or the Office of the President, on appeal, validly impose the penalty of dismissal from service on erring elective local officials?
RULING
No. The Supreme Court denied Pablico’s petition and affirmed the Court of Appeals, ruling that neither a Sanggunian nor the Office of the President has the power to dismiss an elective local official. The Court anchored its decision on a clear statutory interpretation of Section 60 of the Local Government Code of 1991. The law explicitly states that an elective local official may be removed from office “by order of the proper court.”
The legislative intent to vest the removal power exclusively in the judiciary is patent and was confirmed by the deliberations of the Senate. Consequently, any implementing rule or regulation that grants such removal power to administrative disciplining authorities, like the Sangguniang Panlalawigan or the Office of the President, is void for contravening the substantive law. While these bodies retain the authority to investigate and impose other administrative penalties like suspension, the ultimate power of dismissal is a judicial prerogative. This design balances the need for discipline against protecting the sovereign will of the electorate expressed through the ballot.