G.R. No. L-22586. February 27, 1969.
JULIANA B. BRILLANTES, plaintiff-appellant, vs. MARIANO R. GUEVARRA, defendant-appellee.

FACTS

Juliana B. Brillantes, a civil service eligible with 34 years of government service, was permanently appointed as “Principal (Elementary School) in the Bureau of Public Schools, Department of Education” effective July 1, 1952. Her appointment did not specify a particular station. She was assigned as principal of Sinalang Elementary School in Bangued, Abra. On April 16, 1963, Division Superintendent of Schools Mariano R. Guevarra, pursuant to a Department of Education directive and an implementing circular from the Director of Public Schools (Circular 28, s. 1962) requiring the transfer of principals after five years in one station, issued Division Letter 31 reassigning Brillantes to Peñarrubia Elementary School. Brillantes requested to remain in Sinalang or be assigned elsewhere in Bangued, citing family hardships and claiming the transfer was disciplinary and made without due process. Her request was denied. She filed a complaint seeking to nullify the transfer order, alleging it was a demotion, disciplinary, and violated her security of tenure. The trial court dismissed her complaint. Pending appeal, an administrative charge for insubordination was filed against her, resulting initially in dismissal, later modified to a ten-month suspension.

ISSUE

Whether the transfer/reassignment of appellant Juliana B. Brillantes from Sinalang Elementary School to Peñarrubia Elementary School, pursuant to an administrative order, constitutes a removal or violation of her constitutional right to security of tenure.

RULING

The Supreme Court AFFIRMED the trial court’s decision dismissing the complaint. The transfer order was not constitutionally infirm and did not violate Brillantes’s security of tenure.
1. Security of Tenure Applies to the Position, Not the Station: The constitutional guarantee of security of tenure protects against removal from the office or position itself. Brillantes’s permanent appointment was to the position of “Principal (Elementary School)” in the Bureau of Public Schools generally, without mention of a specific station. Therefore, her secured tenure was to the rank of Principal, not to the specific station of Sinalang Elementary School. She could be assigned or transferred to any station as required by public service, even without her consent.
2. The Administrative Orders are Valid: The Department of Education directive and the implementing Circular 28, s. 1962, which established a policy of transferring principals after five years in one station to prevent stagnation, were a valid exercise of the rule-making power of the Department Head under Section 79(B) of the Revised Administrative Code. The orders applied to officials with appointments not specifying a station and were therefore not arbitrary or violative of security of tenure.
3. The Transfer was Not a Demotion: The evidence showed that the transfer did not involve a reduction in rank, status, or salary. Both schools were of the same classification under the relevant pay plan, and the position in Peñarrubia carried the same principal title, duties, and salary grade.
4. The Transfer was Not Disciplinary: The transfer was effected pursuant to a general policy for the benefit of the service, not as a penalty for cause. Therefore, a hearing or due process for a disciplinary action was not required.
5. Administrative Suspension Declared Null and Void: The Court declared the Commissioner of Civil Service’s decision imposing a ten-month suspension on Brillantes for insubordination null and void. The rationale for this specific declaration, while implied in the final order, is not fully detailed in the provided text excerpt.