GR 167472; (January, 2007) (Digest)
G.R. No. 167472 ; January 31, 2007
CIVIL SERVICE COMMISSION, Petitioner, vs. ENGR. ALI P. DARANGINA, Respondent.
FACTS
Respondent Engr. Ali P. Darangina, a Development Management Officer V, was given a temporary promotional appointment as Director III in the Office of Muslim Affairs (OMA) on September 25, 2000, which the Civil Service Commission (CSC) approved for one year. On October 31, 2000, the newly appointed OMA Executive Director terminated Darangina’s temporary appointment on the ground that he was not a Career Executive Service (CES) eligible. The Executive Director then appointed Alongan Sani to the position, but the CSC disapproved this appointment as Sani also lacked CES eligibility.
Darangina appealed to the CSC, which initially sustained the termination but ordered payment of his salaries for the period he actually served. Upon motion for reconsideration, the CSC modified its ruling, ordering payment of backwages for the entire unexpired 12-month term of his temporary appointment, until September 24, 2001. Darangina then filed a petition with the Court of Appeals, which ruled in his favor, ordering his reinstatement to finish his 12-month term with full backwages.
ISSUE
Whether a temporary appointee, who was validly replaced during his term, is entitled to reinstatement and payment of backwages for the unexpired portion of his temporary appointment when his replacement is also not qualified.
RULING
The Supreme Court reversed the Court of Appeals and ruled in favor of the CSC. The legal logic is anchored on the nature of a temporary appointment under Section 27 of the Administrative Code. A temporary appointment, issued in the absence of appropriate eligibles, is inherently terminable at the pleasure of the appointing authority at any time, with or without cause, and lasts only up to twelve months. The appointee serves at the discretion of the appointing power and accepts the position with the condition that he may be replaced sooner.
The Court held that Darangina’s termination by the new OMA Executive Director on October 31, 2000, was valid. The subsequent fact that his replacement was also ineligible did not invalidate the termination or create a right to reinstatement for Darangina. The invalidity of the successor’s appointment is a separate matter that does not retroactively convert Darangina’s valid termination into an illegal dismissal. Consequently, he was not entitled to reinstatement or to backwages for the unserved portion of his term. Since he was paid salaries for the full twelve-month period despite serving only about one month, the Court ordered him to refund the excess salaries received from November 1, 2000, to September 24, 2001.