G.R. No.

109455 November 11, 1993

RAUL A. GALAROSA, in his capacity as incumbent President and Representative of the

Association of Barangay Captains of the Municipality of Sorsogon, Sorsogon, petitioner,
vs.
HON. EUDARLIO B. VALENCIA, in his capacity as the Presiding Judge of the Regional Trial
Court of Sorsogon, Branch 52, SANGGUNIANG BAYAN OF SORSOGON; and RODOLFO
SALAY, respondents.

Villanueva, Bernardo & Gabionza for petitioner.

Elizalde D. Diaz for private respondent.

In order to clarify issues arising from various interpretations of pertinent provisions of

the Local Government Code of 1991 and the Implementing Rules and Regulations
relative to the term of office of the Liga chapter presidents as members of the
sanggunian, the following guidelines are hereby issued.

1. The incumbent presidents of the ABC at the

municipal, city, province and Metropolitan Manila shall
continue [sic] to act as presidents of the
corresponding Liga chapters.

2. To ensure continued representation of the

barangay in the sanggunian, they shall continue to
serve as ex-officio members of the sanggunian
concerned, unless sooner removed for cause,
pending the election of the first set of officials on the
national Liga and local chapters.

3. The election of the first set of officials of the

national Liga and local chapters shall be within six (6)
months (not to go beyond March 9, 1993) from
ratification by the National Liga and its constitution
and by-laws.

4. The ratification of the Liga Constitution and by-laws

shall -be within six (6) months (not to go beyond
September 9, 1992) from the promulgation of the
Implementing Rules and Regulation (IRR) of the Local
Government Code on March 9, 1992.

And on 29 June 1992, the DILG issued Memorandum Circular No. 92-38 which reads as follows:

In view of the numerous issues and concerns reaching this Department requesting
for a clarificatory ruling regarding the term of office of the incumbent ABC Presidents
as ex-officio members of the respective sanggunian pending the reorganization and
election of the new liga chapter, the following guidelines are hereby promulgated for
the guidance and reference of all concerned:

Section 494 Local Government Code of 1991 (RA 7160)

 The duly elected presidents of the liga at the municipal, city and
provincial levels, including the component cities and municipalities of
Metro Manila, shall serve as ex officio members of the sangguniang
bayan, sangguniang panglunsod [and] sangguniang panlalawigan,
respectively. They shall serve as such only during their term of office
as presidents of the liga chapters which in no case shall be beyond
the term of office of the sanggunian concerned.

Article 210 (d) (3), Rule XXIX of the IRR

The incumbent presidents of the municipal, city and provincial

chapters of the Liga shall continue to serve as ex officio members of
the sanggunian concerned until the expiration of their term of office,
unless sooner removed for cause.

The aforequoted provisions of the Code and its IRR clearly provide that upon the
cessation from office of the elective sanggunian members, these ex-officio members
shall likewise cease to hold office upon the election and qualification of their
successors since they cannot serve beyond the end of the term of office of the
elective members (See Laspinas vs. Santos, G.R. No. 83520, June 23, 1988;
Cadugon vs. Singuat-Guerra, G.R. No. 85884, March 9, 1989).

XXX XXX XXX

We therefore hold that GALAROSA, as president of the ABC of Sorsogon, can legally and validly
hold over as a member of the sangguniang bayan of Sorsogon, Sorsogon, until the election of the
first set of officers of the liga ng mga barangay, unless he is sooner removed for cause.

[G.R. No. 139813. January 31, 2001.]

JOEL BITO-ONON, petitioner, vs. HON. JUDGE NELIA YAP FERNANDEZ, R.T.C. Br. 50 —
Puerto Princesa City and Palawan, and ELEGIO QUEJANO, JR., respondents.

MATTERS AFFECTING INTERNAL ORGANIZATION THEREOF ARE GOVERNED BY THEIR

RESPECTIVE CONSTITUTION AND BY-LAWS NOT PROVIDED FOR IN LOCAL GOVERNMENT
CODE. — The ligas are primarily governed by the provisions of the Local Government Code.
However, their respective constitution and by-laws shall govern all other matters affecting the
internal organization of the liga not otherwise provided for in the Local Government Code provided
that the Constitution and by-laws shall be suppletory to the provisions of Book III, Title VI of the
Local Government Code and shall always conform to the provisions of the Constitution and existing
laws.

Jurisprudence on the grounds:

G.R. No. 188066 October 22, 2014 OFFICE OF THE OMBUDSMAN, Petitioner, vs.
CYNTHIA E. CABEROY, Respondent.

Oppression is also known as grave abuse of authority, which is a misdemeanor committed by a

public officer, who under color of his office, wrongfully inflict upon any person any bodily harm,
imprisonment or other injury. It is an act ofcruelty, severity, or excessive use of authority.23 To be held
administratively liable for Oppression or Grave Abuse of Authority, there must be substantial
evidence presented proving the complainant’s allegations.24

G.R. No. 154083 February 27, 2013 OFFICE OF THE OMBUDSMAN, Petitioner,
vs. SAMSON DE LEON, Respondent.

Gross neglect of duty or gross negligence "refers to negligence characterized by the want of
even slight care, or by acting or omitting to act in a situation where there is a duty to act, not
inadvertently but wilfully and intentionally, with a conscious indifference to the consequences, insofar
as other persons may be affected. It is the omission of that care that even inattentive and
thoughtless men never fail to give to their own property."22 It denotes a flagrant and culpable refusal
or unwillingness of a person to perform a duty.23 In cases involving public officials, gross negligence
occurs when a breach of duty is flagrant and palpable.24

[G.R. No. 94115. August 21, 1992.] RODOLFO E. AGUINALDO, petitioner, vs. HON. LUIS
SANTOS, as Secretary of the Department of Local Government, and MELVIN VARGAS, as Acting
Governor of Cagayan, respondents.

ID.; ID.; ACTS OF DISLOYALTY TO THE REPUBLIC AS A GROUND FOR REMOVAL

THEREOF; NEED NOT BE PROVED BEYOND REASONABLE DOUBT. — The power of respondent
Secretary to remove local government officials is anchored on both the Constitution and a statutory
grant from the legislative branch. The constitutional basis is provided by Articles VII (17) and X (4) of
the 1987 Constitution which vest in the President the power of control over all executive departments,
bureaus and offices and the power of general supervision over local governments, and by the doctrine
that the acts of the department head are presumptively the acts of the President unless expressly
rejected by him. The statutory grant found in B.P. Blg. 337 itself has constitutional roots, having been
enacted by the then Batasan Pambansa pursuant to Article XI of the 1973 Constitution, Section 2. A
similar provision is found in Section 3, Article X of the 1987 Constitution. Equally without merit is
petitioner's claim that before he could be suspended or removed from office, proof beyond reasonable
doubt is required inasmuch as he is charged with a penal offense of disloyalty to the Republic which
is defined and penalized under Article 137 of the Revised Penal Code. Petitioner is not being
prosecuted criminally under the provisions of the Revised Penal Code, but administratively with the
end in view of removing petitioner as the duly elected Governor of Cagayan Province for acts of
disloyalty to the Republic where the quantum of proof required is only substantial evidence.

ART. 137. Disloyalty of public officers or employees. - The penalty of prision correccional in its
minimum period shall be imposed upon public officers or employees who have failed to resist a
rebellion by all the means in their power, or shall continue to discharge the duties of their offices
under the control of the rebels or shall accept appointment to office under them.

A.M. No. (2170-MC) P-1356 November 21, 1979 HON. REMIGIO E. ZARI, complainant,
vs. DIOSDADO S. FLORES, respondent.

Moral turpitude has been defined as including any act done contrary to justice, honesty, modesty or
good morals. 7

Some of the particular crimes which have been held to involve moral turpitude are adultery,
concubinage, 8 rape, arson, evasion of income tax, barratry, bigamy, blackmail, bribery, 9 criminal
conspiracy to smuggle opium, dueling, embezzlement, extortion, forgery, libel, making fraudulent
proof of loss on insurance contract, murder, mutilation of public records, fabrication of evidence,
offenses against pension laws, perjury, seduction under promise of marriage, 10 estafa, 11 falsification
of public document, 12 estafa thru falsification of public document. 13

"Moral turpitude" has been defined as an act of baseness, vileness, or depravity in the private and
social duties which a man owes his fellow men, to society in general, contrary to the accepted and
customary rule of right and duty between man and woman or conduct contrary to justice, honesty,
modesty, or good morals. 14 It implies something immoral in itself, regardless of the fact that it is
punishable by law or not. It must not merely be mala prohibita but, the act itself must be inherently
immoral. The doing of the act itself, and not its prohibition by statute fixes the moral
turpitude. 15 Moral turpitude does not, however, include such acts as are not of themselves immoral
but whose illegality lies in the fact of their being positively prohibited. 16 Hence, the crime of illegal
possession of firearm or ammunition does not involve moral turpitude for under our laws, what is
punishable is the possession of a firearm or ammunition without a license or authority. 17

Bribery is admittedly a felony involving moral turpitude. 1

G.R. No. 199549 April 7, 2014 CIVIL SERVICE COMMISSION and DEPARTMENT
OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY, Regional Office No. V, Petitioners, vs. MARILYN G.
ARANDIA, Respondent.

Insubordination is defined as a refusal to obey some order, which a superior officer is entitled to
give and have obeyed. The term imports a willful or intentional disregard of the lawful and
reasonable instructions of the employer.14

[G.R. No. L-6225. January 10, 1953.] ARSENIO H. LACSON, petitioner, vs. MARCIANO
ROQUE, as Acting Executive Secretary, BARTOLOME GATMAITAN, as Vice-Mayor of Manila
and DIONISIO OJEDA, as Acting Chief of Police of Manila, respondents.

ID.; ID.; "MISCONDUCT IN OFFICE," DEFINED. — Misconduct in office has a definite and
well-understood legal meaning. By uniform legal definition, it is a misconduct such as affects his
performance of his duties as an officer and not such only as affects his character as a private individual.
The words "for cause" and misconduct in office" are synonymous, in a limited sense.

THE LOCAL GOVERNMENT CODE

OF THE PHILIPPINES

CHAPTER 5. - RECALL
SEC. 69. By Whom Exercised. - The power of recall for loss of confidence shall
be exercised by the registered voters of a local government unit to which the
local elective official subject to such recall belongs.
SEC. 70. Initiation of the Recall Process. - (a) Recall may be initiated by a
preparatory recall assembly or by the registered voters of the local
government unit to which the local elective official subject to such recall
belongs.c ralaw

(b) There shall be a preparatory recall assembly in every province, city,

district, and municipality which shall be composed of the following: ch anro bles vi rtua l law lib ra ry

(1) Provincial level. - All mayors, vice-mayors, and sanggunian members of

the municipalities and component cities;
(2) City level. - All punong barangay and sangguniang barangay members in
the city;
(3) Legislative District level. - In cases where sangguniang panlalawigan
members are elected by district, all elective municipal officials in the district;
and in cases where sangguniang panlungsod members are elected by district,
all elective barangay officials in the district; and c ralaw

(4) Municipal level. - All punong barangay and sangguniang barangay

members in the municipality. cra law

(c) A majority of all the preparatory recall assembly members may convene
in session in a public place and initiate a recall proceeding against any elective
official in the local government unit concerned. Recall of provincial, city, or
municipal officials shall be validly initiated through a resolution adopted by a
majority of all the members of the preparatory recall assembly concerned
during its session called for the purpose. cralaw

(d) Recall of any elective provincial, city, municipal, or barangay

official may also be validly initiated upon petition of at least twenty-
five percent (25%) of the total number of registered voters in the
local government unit concerned during the election in which the local
official sought to be recalled was elected. cralaw

(1) A written petition for recall duly signed before the election registrar or his
representative, and in the presence of a representative of the petitioner and
a representative of the official sought to be recalled, and in a public place in
the province, city, municipality, or barangay, as the case may be, shall be
filed with the Comelec through its office in the local government unit
concerned. The Comelec or its duly authorized representative shall cause the
publication of the petition in a public and conspicuous place for a period of not
less than ten (10) days nor more than twenty (20) days, for the purpose of
verifying the authenticity and genuineness of the petition and the required
percentage of voters. cra law

(2) Upon the lapse of the aforesaid period, the Comelec or its duly authorized
representative shall announce the acceptance of candidates to the position
and thereafter prepare the list of candidates which shall include the name of
the official sought to be recalled.cra law

SEC. 71. Election on Recall. - Upon the filing of a valid resolution or petition
for recall with the appropriate local office of the Comelec, the Commission or
its duly authorized representative shall set the date of the election on recall,
which shall not be later than thirty (30) days after the filing of the resolution
or petition for recall in the case of the barangay, city, or municipal officials,
and forty-five (45) days in the case of provincial officials. The official or
officials sought to be recalled shall automatically be considered as duly
registered candidate or candidates to the pertinent positions and, like other
candidates, shall be entitled to be voted upon. c ralaw

SEC. 72. Effectivity of Recall. - The recall of an elective local official shall be
effective only upon the election and proclamation of a successor in the person
of the candidate receiving the highest number of votes cast during the election
on recall. Should the official sought to be recalled receive the highest number
of votes, confidence in him is thereby affirmed, and he shall continue in office. c ralaw

SEC. 73. Prohibition from Resignation. - The elective local official sought to be
recalled shall not be allowed to resign while the recall process is in progress. c ralaw

SEC. 74. Limitations on Recall. - (a) Any elective local official may be the
subject of a recall election only once during his term of office for loss of
confidence. c ralaw

(b) No recall shall take place within one (1) year from the date of the official's
assumption to office or one (1) year immediately preceding a regular local
election.c ralaw

SEC. 75. Expenses Incident to Recall Elections. - All expenses incident to recall
elections shall be borne by the Comelec. For this purpose, there shall be
included in the annual General Appropriations Act a contingency fund at the
disposal of the Comelec for the conduct of recall elections.