G.R. No. L-23932; April 27, 1967
ABELARDO BUENO, petitioner-appellee, vs. FRANCISCO G. CORDOBA, JR., respondent-appellant.

FACTS

A report dated March 21, 1963, from Josefita Asis-Villegas, RCA In-charge at Daet, Camarines Norte, to the Rice and Corn Administration (RCA) General Manager, alleged that around mid-February 1963, warehouseman Abelardo Bueno authorized the unloading of 20 bags of RCA rice at the house of trucking contractor Sancho Asis without the required official receipts and invoices, constituting a violation of regulations. Based on this report, the RCA General Manager filed an unsworn administrative charge (Adm. Case No. 29-S-63) against Bueno on March 29, 1963, for misconduct and violation of office rules. RCA investigator Francisco G. Cordoba, Jr., was assigned to conduct the investigation. Bueno moved to dismiss, arguing that under Section 32 of Republic Act 2260 (the Civil Service Act), the investigation could not proceed without a sworn complaint. The motion was denied. Bueno then filed a petition for certiorari and prohibition with preliminary injunction in the Court of First Instance of Camarines Norte, which ruled in his favor and restrained the investigation. The respondent investigator appealed.

ISSUE

Whether the administrative investigation against petitioner Abelardo Bueno is legal despite the absence of a sworn complaint.

RULING

The Supreme Court reversed the lower court’s judgment and dismissed Bueno’s petition. The Court held that under Section 32 of Republic Act 2260 and its implementing rule (Section 24, Rule XVIII of the Civil Service), an administrative proceeding may be commenced in two ways: (1) upon a direct charge by the Department or Agency head, or (2) upon a complaint filed by any other person. The requirement that a complaint must be in writing and sworn to applies only to proceedings commenced by complaint from “any other person.” It does not apply when the proceeding is initiated by the direct charge of the Department or Agency head, as in this case where the RCA General Manager filed the charge. The RCA General Manager, as the Agency head with the power to discipline RCA employees, acts in the performance of his sworn official duties, and his charges are deemed sufficient to warrant investigation without the need for a sworn complaint. Therefore, the administrative proceedings were validly commenced by the RCA General Manager’s unsworn charge, and the lack of an oath on the subordinate’s report was immaterial. Costs were imposed on petitioner-appellee Bueno.