G.R. No. 99336 and G.R. No. 100178, June 9, 1992.
MELANIO S. TORIO, Petitioner, vs. CIVIL SERVICE COMMISSION, NATIONAL PRINTING OFFICE, OFFICE OF THE PRESS SECRETARY and EFREN CAMACHO, Respondents. (G.R. No. 99336) / JAIME ESPANOLA, Petitioner, vs. CIVIL SERVICE COMMISSION, LETTY CANGAYDA, NATIONAL PRINTING OFFICE and THE OFFICE OF THE PRESS SECRETARY, Respondents. (G.R. No. 100178)

FACTS

Executive Order No. 285 abolished the General Services Administration (GSA) and merged the General Printing Office (GPO) with relevant units of the Philippine Information Agency (PIA) to create the National Printing Office (NPO) under the Office of the Press Secretary (OPS). A new plantilla was prepared. Petitioners Melanio Torio (Chief of the Production Staff, PIA) and Jaime Espanola (Bindery Foreman, PIA) continued in hold-over capacity. On March 1, 1988, pursuant to the new NPO staffing pattern, Torio was temporarily appointed Assistant Operations Superintendent of Printing and Espanola as Temporary Supervising Bookbinder. These lapsed on February 28, 1989. On March 1, 1989, Torio received a renewal temporary appointment, while Espanola was issued a permanent appointment as Supervising Bookbinder (having been granted a testimonial eligibility on the same date). On July 1, 1989, their positions were upgraded; Torio received a new permanent appointment for the upgraded position (Assistant Superintendent of Printing), while Espanola, already permanent, was merely notified of the upgrade to Bookbinder IV.
Prior to these permanent appointments, protests were lodged with the Civil Service Commission (CSC) by Efren Camacho (against Torio) and Letty Cangayda (against Espanola). The CSC referred the protests to the NPO and the OPS Reorganization Appeals Board, respectively. As no action was taken, the CSC resolved the protests based on available documents. On January 7, 1991, the CSC revoked Torio’s appointment (CSC Case No. 796), ordering evaluation of qualified individuals including Camacho. On February 5, 1991, the CSC cancelled Espanola’s appointment (CSC Case No. 832), ordering Cangayda’s reappointment. Motions for reconsideration were denied.

ISSUE

Whether the Civil Service Commission acted correctly in revoking the permanent appointments of petitioners Melanio S. Torio and Jaime Espanola on the ground that they lacked the necessary civil service eligibility at the time of their appointments.

RULING

No. The Supreme Court granted the petitions and set aside the assailed CSC resolutions.
The Court held that the protests against the petitioners’ initial temporary appointments had become moot and academic as those appointments had already lapsed. A permanent appointment is a distinct act from a temporary appointment; irregularities in a lapsed temporary appointment are not automatically carried over to a subsequent permanent appointment, which must be evaluated on its own merits at the time of its issuance.
Regarding eligibility, the Court ruled that for a permanent appointment, the appointee must possess the required eligibility at the time of appointment. Petitioner Torio had passed the career service professional examination on July 26, 1987, and the results were released on January 13, 1988. His permanent appointment was issued on July 1, 1989; therefore, he possessed the requisite eligibility at the time of his permanent appointment. Petitioner Espanola was granted a testimonial eligibility on March 1, 1989, the same date he received his permanent appointment as Supervising Bookbinder. Thus, he also possessed the required eligibility at the time of his permanent appointment. The CSC erred in using the date of their earlier temporary appointments as the reckoning point for eligibility.
Furthermore, the reorganization from which the appointments arose was bona fide, undertaken for economy and efficiency. Consequently, private respondent Cangayda was not illegally removed; her former position was abolished. The Court also noted that Section 16, Article XVIII of the 1987 Constitution authorizes the dismissal of career civil service employees as a result of reorganization following its ratification.
The permanent appointments of petitioners Torio and Espanola were declared valid. The temporary restraining order was made permanent.