10. JOSE P. LAUREL VS.

CSC, LORENZO SANGALANG

FACTS:

- Laurel, the duly elected Governor of the Province of Batangas, upon assuming office appointed
his brother, Benjamin Laurel, as Senior Executive Assistant in the Office of the Governor, a non-
career service position which belongs to the personal and confidential staff of an elective
official.
- In December 1980, the position of Provincial Admin became vacant due to resignation of Mr.
Salcedo.
- Allegedly, for lack of qualified applicants and so as not to prejudice the operation of the
provincial government, he designated his brother, Benjamin Laurel, as Acting Provincial Admin.
- In 1981, he issued Benjamin a promotional appointment as Civil Security Officer, a position
which CSC classifies as primarily confidential.
- In 1983, Lorenzo Sangalang wrote CSC to bring to its attention the "appointment" of Benjamin
Laurel as Provincial Administrator of Batangas by the Governor, his brother. He alleges therein
that: (1) the position in question is a career position, (2) the appointment violates civil service
rules, and (3) since the Governor authorized said appointee to receive representation allowance,
he violated the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act.
- Answer: no violation on the provision prohibiting nepotism under Section 49 of P.D. No. 807
because, with respect to the positions of Senior Executive Assistant and Civil Security Officer,
both are primarily confidential in nature; and, with respect to the position of Provincial
Administrator what is prohibited is “appointment” not designation.
- CSC: revokes the designation of Benjamin as Acting Provincial Admin on the ground that it is
"nepotic", or in violation of Section 49, P.D. No. 807 on nepotism.
o The law provides: All appointments in the national, provincial, city and municipal
governments or in any branch or instrumentality thereof, including government-owned
or controlled corporations, made in favor of a relative of the appointing or
recommending authority, or of the chief of the bureau or office, or of the persons
exercising immediate supervision over him, are hereby prohibited. It applies to relatives
within the 3rd degree of consanguinity or affinity.
o The following are exempted from the operation of the rules on nepotism: (1) persons
employed in a confidential capacity, (2) teachers, (3) physicians, and (4) members of the
Armed Forces of the Ph.

ISSUE:

1. Is the position of Provincial Administrator primarily confidential? No.

2. Does the rule on nepotism apply to designation? Yes.
3. May a private citizen who does not claim any better right to a position file a verified complaint
with the Civil Service Commission to denounce a violation by an appointing authority of the Civil
Service Law and rules? Yes.

RULING:

1. The petitioner did not raise this issue in his letter to the chairman of the CSC. On the contrary,
he submits that the said position is not primarily confidential for it belongs to the career service.
 He even emphasized it. His words were “… to a career Civil Service position, like that of
provincial administrator.” So, he is estopped to question whether the position of Provincial
Admin is primarily confidential. But even if he was able to raise it, the position of Provincial
Admin is primarily confidential. It is embraced within the Career Service under Section 5 PD 807
as evidenced by the qualifications prescribed for it. Like for education: bachelor’s degree holder;
experience: six years of progressively responsible experience in planning, etc.; eligibility: RA
1080, personnel management officer, career service exam. Furthermore, the position of
Provincial Admin belongs to the class of top professional level management, administrative and
organizational work in the operation of provincial government with highly complex, involved
relationships with considerable delegation of authority and responsibility and a high degree of
public contact. Hence, it belongs to the career service category. Career service which, per
Section 5 of P.D. No. 807, is characterized by (a) entrance based on merit and fitness to be
determined as far as practicable by competitive examinations, or based on highly technical
qualifications, (b) opportunity for advancement to higher career positions, and (c) security of
tenure. More specifically, it is an open career position, for appointment to it requires prior
qualification in an appropriate examination.
Additionally, it is the nature of the position which determines whether a position is primarily
confidential, highly technical, or policy-determining. Executive pronouncements are only guide.
This rule stands despite the 3rd paragraph of Section 10 PD 868. Otherwise, if it is the executive
that determines it, it would subvert the provision on the civil service.
Not being primarily confidential, appointments thereto must be subjected to the rule on
nepotism. One more thing that should be noted is that when he was designated as Provincial
Admin, he was holding the position of Senior EA (a primarily confidential) and promoted to Civil
Security Officer (a primarily confidential). Both positions belong to non-career service. Petitioner
cannot legally and validly designate Benjamin as Acting Provincial Admin because Section 24(f)
of RA 2260 provides that no person appointed to a position in the non-career service shall
perform the duties properly belonging to any position in the career service.
2. Yes, nepotism applies to designation. By legal contemplation, the prohibition on nepotism shall
include designation because what cannot be done directly cannot be done indirectly. The use of
term appointment in the law is understood to include designation for it accomplishes the same
purpose. Moreover, if designation is not to be deemed included in the term, then the
prohibition on nepotism would be meaningless and toothless.
3. In this case, there is a violation of the law. Any citizen of the Ph may bring that matter to the
attention of CSC for appropriate action conformably with its role as the central personnel agency
to set standards and to enforce the laws and rules governing the selection, utilization training,
and discipline of civil servants with the power and function to administer and enforce the
Constitutional and statutory provisions on the merit system. Moreover, Section 37 of the decree
expressly allows a private citizen to directly file with the Civil Service Commission a complaint
against a government official or employee, in which case it may hear and decide the case or may
deputize any department or agency or official or group of officials to conduct an investigation.
The results of the investigation shall be submitted to the Commission with recommendation as
to the penalty to be imposed or other action to be taken. This provision gives teeth to the
Constitutional exhortation that a public office is a public trust and public officers and employees
must at all times be, inter alia, accountable to the people.
The appointment is not proper.