G.R. No. L-30773 February 18, 1970
FELIXBERTO C. STA. MARIA, petitioner, vs. SALVADOR P. LOPEZ, THE BOARD OF REGENTS OF THE UNIVERSITY OF THE PHILIPPINES, and NEMESIO CERALDE, respondents.

FACTS

Petitioner Felixberto C. Sta. Maria was the Dean of the College of Education of the University of the Philippines. On July 23, 1969, respondent University President Salvador P. Lopez issued Administrative Order No. 77, transferring Sta. Maria from the College of Education to the Office of the President as Special Assistant with the rank of Dean, without reduction in salary, “in the interest of the service.” The order stated it affected only his administrative position and not his status as a professor. Concurrently, respondent Nemesio Ceralde was given an ad interim appointment as Acting Dean of the College of Education. President Lopez issued press statements explaining the transfer was necessary due to a student strike and boycott that had shut down classes, as the striking students demanded Sta. Maria’s resignation. He characterized it as a difficult decision made to restore peace and academic life on campus.

ISSUE

The sole legal issue posed is whether the transfer order issued by President Lopez constituted a removal of Sta. Maria from his position as Dean of the College of Education.

RULING

The concurring opinion of Justice Castro holds that the transfer order was unmistakably a removal from the deanship, not a mere temporary detail. The reasoning is threefold: First, the order’s language investing Sta. Maria “with the rank of Dean” implicitly acknowledged he was no longer actually a dean. Second, the appointment of an Acting Dean to the position confirmed it was vacant. Third, President Lopez’s contemporaneous press statements revealed the true nature of the action: Sta. Maria was relieved from his post as the price to end the student strike and reopen the university. The opinion concludes that such an unconsented transfer, even without demotion, is equivalent to a removal. Following the precedent in Lacson v. Romero, a transfer objected to by the employee requires due process, including notice and hearing, absent a cause recognized by law. The statutory requirement for a hearing on transfers (as later embodied in the amended Civil Service Act) reflects fundamental canons of fairness inherent in due process, which were applicable and binding on the University authorities at the time of Sta. Maria’s transfer.