G.R. No. 88498 June 9, 1992
Generoso R. Sevilla, petitioner, vs. The Hon. Court of Appeals and Nerito L. Santos, respondents.

FACTS

Petitioner Generoso R. Sevilla was designated as Acting City Engineer of Cabanatuan City by President Ferdinand E. Marcos on May 2, 1981. He discharged these functions until after the 1986 EDSA Revolution. On August 18, 1986, the Officer-in-Charge (OIC) Mayor of Cabanatuan City, Cesar Vergara, appointed respondent Nerito L. Santos as the City Engineer of Cabanatuan City. Santos assumed the position on August 28, 1986. Sevilla was on leave at the time and was informed of this appointment via a memorandum received on his behalf. Subsequently, on November 14, 1986, the Minister of Public Works and Highways, Rogaciano Mercado, designated Sevilla as Acting District Engineer of Pasay City. He served in this capacity until he was removed by the new DPWH Secretary on February 3, 1987, prompting his return to Cabanatuan City. Finding his former position occupied by Santos, Sevilla filed a petition for quo warranto against Santos on March 27, 1987, before the Regional Trial Court of Cabanatuan City. The RTC ruled in favor of Sevilla, ordering Santos’s ouster and reinstating Sevilla. On appeal, the Court of Appeals reversed the RTC decision and dismissed the quo warranto petition. The CA held that Sevilla, by accepting another office, voluntarily surrendered his former office and was precluded from maintaining the action, and that Santos’s appointment was valid as it was confirmed by the Minister of Public Works and Highways. Sevilla filed this petition for review.

ISSUE

May an officer who was appointed to an office in an “acting” capacity bring a quo warranto action against the permanent appointee to the position?

RULING

No. The Supreme Court denied the petition and affirmed the decision of the Court of Appeals. The Court ruled that an “acting” appointment is merely temporary and lapses upon the appointment of a permanent replacement. The petitioner’s designation as Acting City Engineer was a temporary imposition of additional duties on him as the incumbent City Engineer of Palayan City, and did not confer security of tenure in the Cabanatuan City position. The power of appointment is discretionary and rests with the appointing authority, in this case the City Mayor. The appointment of respondent Santos by the OIC Mayor was valid, having been confirmed by the Minister of Public Works and Highways and approved by the Civil Service Commission. Consequently, the petitioner’s ouster was not illegal, and he had no legal standing to bring a quo warranto action as he could not claim entitlement to the office unlawfully held by another.