GR 210013; (January, 2020) (Digest)
G.R. No. 210013 , January 22, 2020
DANGEROUS DRUGS BOARD, PETITIONER, VS. MARIA BELEN ANGELITA V. MATIBAG, RESPONDENT.
FACTS
Respondent Maria Belen Angelita V. Matibag was appointed as Deputy Executive Director for Operations (DEDO) of the Dangerous Drugs Board (DDB) on January 5, 2007. She possessed a Career Service Executive Eligibility (CSEE) conferred by the Civil Service Commission (CSC). Following the issuance of Office of the President Memorandum Circular (OP-MC) Nos. 1 and 2, which pertained to Non-Career Executive Service Officers (Non-CESOs) occupying Career Executive Service (CES) positions, Matibag sought clarification on her status. The Office of the President, through Executive Secretary Ochoa, opined in a letter dated January 7, 2011, that she was covered by the MC as a non-CESO occupying a CES position, as the requisite eligibility was a CESO rank conferred by the Career Executive Service Board (CESB), not the CSEE. Consequently, the DDB, through Undersecretary Edgar C. Galvante, issued a Memorandum dated March 2, 2011, terminating Matibag’s designation as DEDO. Matibag filed a complaint for illegal dismissal before the CSC. The CSC ruled in her favor, ordering her reinstatement with backwages, a decision affirmed by the Court of Appeals. The DDB filed the present Petition for Review on Certiorari. During its pendency, Matibag took her oath as Executive Director of the DDB on April 7, 2017, and moved for the dismissal of the case on grounds of mootness.
ISSUE
Whether the Petition was rendered moot and academic by Matibag’s subsequent appointment as Executive Director; and whether Matibag was illegally dismissed from her position as DEDO, which hinges on whether her CSEE conferred by the CSC was sufficient to grant her security of tenure in a CES position.
RULING
The Supreme Court ruled that the Petition was not moot and academic. A moot case ceases to present a justiciable controversy due to supervening events, rendering a declaration of no practical use. Here, a ruling on the legality of Matibag’s dismissal retains practical value as it determines her entitlement to reinstatement and backwages for the period from her termination on March 2, 2011, until her appointment as Executive Director on April 7, 2017. Furthermore, her new appointment to a different position (Executive Director) did not constitute reinstatement to her former position (Deputy Executive Director), and there was no showing that backwages had been paid.
On the merits, the Supreme Court held that Matibag was validly dismissed. The Court reversed the decisions of the CSC and CA, relying on its precedent in Feliciano v. Department of National Defense. The Court ruled that the authority to prescribe requirements for entrance to third-level CES positions is vested by law in the CESB, not the CSC. While the CSC administers the CSEE, possession of this eligibility alone does not confer permanent status or security of tenure for a CES position. To acquire CES eligibility and a permanent appointment, one must complete the full process prescribed by the CESB, which includes the CSEE examination, an assessment center, and a performance validation stage. Since Matibag, as a non-CESO holder with only a CSEE, did not possess the requisite CES eligibility for the DEDO position, her appointment was merely temporary. Her termination, pursuant to OP-MC Nos. 1 and 2 for being a non-CESO occupying a CES position, was therefore valid. The Court declared her termination from the position on March 2, 2011, as valid.