Republ

icoft
hePhi
l
ippi
nes
SUPREMECOURT
Manil
a

ENBANC

G.
R.No.86899-
903 May15,
1989

GOVERNORAMORD.DELOSO,pet
it
ioner
,
vs.
THESANDIGANBAYAN,THEPEOPLEOFTHEPHILI
PPINES,andTHESECRETARY OFTHE
DEPARTMENTOFLOCALGOVERNMENTANDCOMMUNITYDEVELOPMENT,
respondent
s.

Angar
a,Abel
l
o,Concepci
on,
Regal
a&Cr
uzf
orpet
it
ioner
.

TheOf
fi
ceoft
heSol
i
cit
orGener
alf
orpubl
i
crespondent
.

GUTI
ERREZ,
JR.
,J.
:

Thispeti
ti
onf orcert
iorar
iseekst oannulandsetasi detheresol
uti
onoft heSandi
ganbayan
datedFebruar
y10,1989i nCriminalCasesNos.9200t o9204whi chprev
ent i
vel
ysuspended
peti
ti
onerAmorD.Del oso(accusedint hecri
minalcases)pendent
elit
efrom hisposi
ti
onas
provi
nci
algovernorofZambalesandf rom anyoff
icet
hathemaybehol di
ng.

Thepetit
ionerwast hedulyelectedmay orofBot olan,Zambal esinthel ocalelect
ionsof
November1971.Whi l
eheoccupiedtheposi t
ionofmay or,acer
tainJuanVil
lanuev afi
l
edal et
ter
complai
ntwiththeTanodbayanaccusi nghi
m ofhav i
ngcommi t
tedactsinviolat
ionoftheAnt i
-
Graf
tLaw( Republi
cAct3019)inrelati
ontot heawardofl i
censest ooper
atef i
shcorral
sinthe
munici
palwatersofBotol
an,Zambal esduri
ngt heperi
od1976t o1978andt heissuanceoffive
(5)t
ract
orsofthemuni ci
pal
i
tytocer taini
ndivi
dualsall
egedlywithoutanyagreementast othe
paymentofrental
s.

Thecompl ai
ntwi t
hr especttotheawar dofl i
censestooper at
ef i
shcor r
alswasdi smissed.As
regar
dst heothercompl aint
,theTanodbay anfi
ledfive(5)separat
ei nf
ormat i
ons,alldat
edMay
30,1984accusi ngt hepet i
ti
onerofv i
olationofSect i
on3( e)
,oft heAnt i-
GraftLaw withthe
Sandiganbayan.Thecaseswer edocket edasCr iminalCasesNos.9200- 9204.Exceptforthe
namesoft heindivi
dualswhower eal
legedlyfavoredbyt hepet
iti
onerandt hedateswhent hese
favor
swer emade, theinformati
onsuniformlyall
eged:

Thatonorabout3Febr uary1978i ntheMuni ci

pali
tyofBot ol
an,Zambal es,Phil
i
ppi nesand
withi
nt hej ur
isdicti
onoft hi
sHonor abl
eCour t
,accusedAMORD.DELOSO, apubl i
cofficerbei
ng
thent heMuni cipalMay oroft heMuni ci
pali
tyofBotolan,Zambales,t aki
ngadv antageofhi s
public and of fici
alposi ti
on,didt hen and there wil
full
y,unlawful
ly and f el
oniously giv
e
unwar rantedbenef itstoDani elFerrerthrumani f
estpar t
ial
i
tyandev i
dentbadf aithinthe
dischargeofhi soffi
cialfuncti
onsbyi ssui
ngtohim at ract
orpurchasedbyt heMuni cipal
it
yof
Botolant hrual oanf i
nancedbyt heLandBankoft hePhili
ppi
nesf orleaset olocalfarmersat
reasonabl ecost ,wit
houtanyagr eementast othepay mentofr ental
sf ortheuseoft ract
orby
Dani
elFer
rert
her
ebycausi
ngunduei
njur
ytot
heMuni
cipal
i
tyofBot
olan.(
Rol
l
o,p.30)

A moti
on to quash t
he i
nfor
mat i
ons was deni
ed by t
he Sandi
ganbay
an.A mot
ion f
or
r
econsi
der
ati
onwasl i
kewi
sedenied.

Thepetit
ionert
henfi
ledapeti
ti
onbef
oreus(G.
R.Nos.69963-67)toannultheSandiganbay
an'
s
resol
uti
onsdenyingt
hepet
iti
oner'
smoti
ont
oquashandmot ionforreconsi
derat
ion.

I
nar esol
uti
ondatedJuly28,
1988,wedismissedt
hepet
it
ionf
orl
ackofmer
it
.Ther
esol
uti
on
becamefi
nalandexecut
oryonOctober17,
1988.

Thepet
it
ionerwasar
rai
gnedonJanuar
y6,1989bef
oret
heSandi
ganbay
an.Hepl
eadedNOT
GUI
LTYtothechar
gesagai
nsthi
m.

TheOffi
ceoftheSpeci
alPr
osecutort
henfil
edamot
iont
osuspendt
hepet
it
ionerpendent
eli
te
pur
suanttoSect
ion13ofRepubl
icActNo.3019.

OnFebruar
y10,1989,theSandi
ganbay
ani
ssuedt
hequest
ionedr
esol
uti
on,t
hedi
sposi
ti
ve
por
ti
onofwhichr
eads:

I
NVI EW OFTHEFOREGOING,theaccusedAmorD.Del
osoissuspendedpendent
eli
tef
rom hi
s
posi
tionasProv
inci
alGov
ernorofZambalesandfrom anyot
herof f
icet
hathemaynow be
hol
ding.

Leta copyoft hisResoluti

on befurni
shed totheSecret
aryoft
heDepar t
mentofLocal
Governmentforimpl
ement ati
onandforhimt oinf
ormthisCour
toftheact
ionhehastaken
ther
eonwithi
nfiv
e(5)daysf r
om r
ecei
pthereof
.(Rol
lo,
p.94)

Thedayf ol
lowi
nghi
srecei
ptoft
her
esol
uti
on,oronFebr
uar
y16,1989,t
hepet
it
ionerf
il
edt
he
i
nstantpeti
ti
on.

OnFebr uary17,1989,thepet i
ti
onerfil
edanur gentmotionwi tht
heSandiganbay
anrequest
ing
thattheexecutionandi mplement at
ionoftheFebr uar
y10,1989suspensi onorderbeheldin
abeyancependingdeterminationofthemer i
tsofthepeti
tion.Themoti
onwasdeni edpr
ompting
thepeti
tionertoasktheCour tforanearli
erset
tingofthet r
ialoft
hecaseswhichwasdeniedin
anorderdat edFebr
uary22,1989.

I
ndeny
ingt
hepl
eaf
oranear
li
erschedul
eoft
het
ri
aloft
hecases,
theSandi
ganbay
ansai
d:

TheCour tnot esthatthesecaseshav ealreadybeensetf orMay15, 16and17aswel lasJune5,

6and7,1989at8: 00o' clockint hemor ni
ngand2: 00o' cl
ocki nt heaf t
ernoon.Whilethe
accusedcl aimst hatthisper i
odi sordinatel
yf ar
,theCour tmustal sobecont endwithit
sown
calendar.Itwi l
lbeeasyenoughf orthisCour ttogivetheaccusedanear l
iersett
ing.However
,
suchaset tingwi l
lbebestapr et
encesi nceothercaseshav ealr
eadybeensetbet weennowand
May15wher ei
nmanyi nstancest heaccusedt hemselvesar ealsoundersuspensi onbyreason
oft hesamepr ovisi
onofl aw.Undert heabov ecir
cumst ances,noot herearli
ersetti
ngcanbe
grantedt ot heaccusedwi thoutmaki ngt hatsetti
ngmer el
yasham si nceot hercaseswhich
hav ebeensetear li
erwillnatural
lyhavear ighttoexpectpr i
ori
ty.(Rol
lo,p.135)
I
nv i
ew oft his devel
opment,the peti
ti
onerfiled an urgentsupplementalappli
cat
ion for
temporaryrest
rai
ningorderand/orwr i
tofpreli
mi nar
yinjunct
iont oenj
ointheSandi
ganbayan,
theSecretar
yofLocalGov ernmentandCommuni t
yDevelopment ,andal
lthoseacti
ngintheir
behal
ffrom executi
ngandimplementingtheFebruary10,1989r esol
uti
onoftheSandi
ganbayan.

Wet
reatt
her
espondent
'sCommentasanansweranddeci
det
hispet
it
iononi
tsmer
it
s.

Thepeti
tionerquesti
onstheconsti
tut
ional
i
tyoft
hesuspensi
onpr
ovi
sionofSect
ion13oft
he
Ant
i-
GraftLaw( Republ
icActNo.3019)
.

Thissamei ssuewasraisedint
hecaseofLaynov.Sandiganbay
an(136SCRA536[ 1985])
.Af
ter
consider
ingthefactsaswellasthemer
it
soft hecase,t
heCourtrul
edthatt
hepetit
ionneednot
ber esol
vedt hr
oughar ul
i
ngont heval
idi
tyoft heprovisi
ononmandat or
ysuspension.We
i
nstead,decidedthecaseinrel
ati
ontot
heprinci
plesofdueprocessandequalpr
otecti
onofthe
l
aw.

Facedwithsi
milarfactualci
rcumst ancesinthei nstantpeti
ti
on, weappl yanewt her uli
ngint he
Laynocaseanddeci detheinstantpetit
ioninrelati
ont otheprinciplesofduepr ocessandequal
prot
ecti
onwithouthav i
ngt odeclarecat egori
callywhetherornott hesuspensionpr ovi
sionof
Republ
icAct3019shoul dbest ruckdownasi nvalid.Welimitoursel vest
oascer tai
ningwhet her
ornot,
underthecir
cumst ancesoft hiscase,anindef i
nit
esuspensi onbecomesunr easonable.

Asear l
yas1974,thenJusti
ceFredRuizCastr
oex pr
essedinasepar
ateopi
nionthemischief
whichwouldresul
ti ftheCourtall
owst heindef
ini
tesuspensi
onofelect
ivelocalof
fi
cials
chargedwi
thvi
olat
ionsoftheAnt
i Gr
aftandCorr
uptPract
icesAct
:

ThecentralpointofSenatorPadil
la'
spositi
onisthatthepenalt
yofsuspensionisdefi
nit
ely
muchl owerthant hatofremovalandi twouldbei ncongr
uousifwegi vet
ot hepenalt
yof
suspensi
onmor eseri
ousconsequencesthanareatt
achedt othepenal
tyofremoval
.Senator
Padil
laoptedfortheimmediat
erestorat
ionofther
espondenttohisposi
ti
ononcethefav
orable
resul
toftheel
ect i
onisknown.

Parent
heti
cal
l
y,i
tmustbest at
edt hatwhil
et her
ewasanexchangeofv i
ewsbetweenSenator
GanzonandSenatorMangl
apusont heAnti
-GraftLaw,theexchangewaslimit
edtothematter
ofthecommencementoftheinvesti
gati
onoft hecharges,whi
ch,accor
dingtoSenat
orGanzon,
cannotbemadewithi
noneyearpriortoanelecti
on.

Andsoi tisthat
,onthebasisofmydiscussionabove,Ibewailt
heapat hyofthemaj or
it
yofthe
Courtt owardef for
tstoseekenlight
enmentonl egalissuesofgr aveimpor t
ancef r
om the
del
iberationsofCongressuponthesaidissues.I
tisnotquitebecomi ngofjudi
cialmagist
rat
es
toshuntasi deasuggestionthattheinterpl
ayofl egalprovi
sionsbecar eful
lystudiedand
analy
zed.

I
nt hedel i
berati
onsoft heCour tont hi
scase,Isuggest edthatweexami nethepossi bl
e
del
imiti
ngeffectsoftheprovi
sionsofthefi
rstsent
enceofsecti
on5oft heDecent
ral
izati
onAct
ont heprovi
sionsoft heAnti
-Graf
tandCor ruptPr
acti
cesActinsofarasthesuspensionfrom
off
iceofanelectivel
ocaloff
ici
alisconcer
ned.Innouncert
ainwordsdidIfocust
heattenti
onof
theCourtont heseriousever
-pr
esentpossi
bil
i
tyofhar assmentofanel ecti
velocaloff
icial
taki
ngtheform oft
hef il
i
ngofavali
dinf
ormati
onagai nsthi
m undert
heprovisi
onsoftheAnt i-
GraftandCorruptPracti
cesActaft
erhi
sexoner at
ioninanadmi ni
str
ati
vecaseinv ol
vi
ngt he
sameof f
ense.

Ialsopoi ntedlybroughtoutt hemat t

eroft henot ori
ousdelayi nthecour t
sofj ust i
cewhi ch
couldeffectivel
yfrustr
at eanel ect
edorr e-electedlocaloffi
cialfrom dischargi
ngt hedut iesof
hisoffi
cef ortheentir
et erm ofhisoffi
ce,andt husnull
i
fythewi l
l ofthepeoplewhoel ectedhi m.
Ili
kewiseaskedt heCour ttoconsidert hesituat i
onwher eanel ecti
velocaloffi
cialr unsf orthe
NationalAssembl yandi selecteddespi t
et hef actthathei sundersuspensi onundert he
authori
tyoft hepr ovi
sionsoft heAnt i
-GraftandCor r
uptPract i
cesAct ,andsoughtadef i
niti
ve
answert othequest i
on.Whatt henwoul dhappent othesuspensi onmet edouttohi m si nceitis
theNat i
onal Assemblyt hatdetermineswhet herheshoul dassumeandcont i
nueinof fice?

Allt
heseandot hergermanequest ionswerebrushedasi debyt hemajorit
yoftheCour
twiththe
sweepingstatementthattheprovisionsoftheDecentrali
zati
onActappl yonl
yt oadmi
nist
rat
ive
cases.Itistheexcat hedraatti
tude,t hi
skindofsl othfulthinki
ng,thatIfi
ndabhorr
entand
ther
eforedeplor
e"(Oliv
erosv.Vil
laluz,57SCRA163, 197- 198[1974])

Petit
ionerDel osowasel ectedgov er
noroft hePr ovinceofZambal esint heJanuary18,1988
l
ocalel ect
ions.Ther egularterm ofagov ernorisonly3y earsalthoughheshal lserv
eunt i
lnoon
ofJune30, 1992byspeci alprovisionoftheConst it
ution.(Sect
ion8, Art
icl
eX, Secti
on2, Ar t
icl
e
XVIII
,Const ituti
on).He was,howev er,ordered suspended f rom per f
orming his duti
es as
governorbyt heSandi ganbay anpur suanttoSect i
on13ofRepubl icActNo.3019byv ir
tueoft he
cri
minalchar gesf i
ledagai nsthim.Theor derofsuspensi ondoesnothav eadef ini
teperiodso
thatthepet iti
onermaybesuspendedf ort herestofhi ster
m ofof fi
ceunl esshiscasei s
terminated sooner .An ext ended suspensi on is a disti
nctpossi bil
i
tyconsi deri
ng thatt he
Sandiganbay andeni edthepet it
ioner'spleaforear l
i
erdat esoft ri
alofhiscasesont hegr ound
thatthereareot hercasessetear l
ierwhichhav ear i
ghttoexpectpr ior
it
y.

Underthesecir
cumstancest
hepreventi
vesuspensi
onwhi
chini
ti
all
ymaybej ust
if
iedbecomes
unreasonabl
ethusr
aisingadueprocessquesti
on.Aswerul
edinLayno,Sr
.v.Sandiganbay
an,
(supra)
:

Petit
ioneri sadul yel ect edmuni cipalmay orofLi anga,SurigaodelSur .Histerm ofof fi
cedoes
notexpi r
eunt il1986.Wer ei tnotf ort hisi nfor mationandt hesuspensi ondecr eedbyt he
Sandiganbay anaccor dingt ot heAnti-Gr aftandCor ruptPr acti
cesAct ,hewoul dhav ebeenal l
thi
swhi lei nthef ulldi schar geofhi sf unctionsassuchmuni ci
palmay or.Hewasel ected
preci
sel yt odoso.AsofOct ober26,1983,hehasbeenunabl et o.Iti
sabasi cassumpt i
onof
theelect oralprocessi mpl i
citint herightofsuf fraget hatthepeopl eareentitl
edt otheser vi
ces
ofelect i
v eof f
ici
alsoft heirchoi ce.Formi sfeasanceormal feasance,anyoft hem coul d,of
course,bepr oceededagai nstadmi nistrat i
velyor ,asint hi
si nst ance,cr
iminall
y.Ineithercase,
hiscul pabili
tymustbeest ablished.Mor eov er ,i
ft herebeacr imi nalacti
on,hei sentit
ledt ot he
constitutionalpr esumpt i
on ofi nnocence.A pr eventi
ve suspensi on may be j ustif
ied.I ts
conti
nuance,howev er,f oranunr easonabl el engt hoft i
mer aisesaduepr ocessquest ion.For
eveni fthereafterhewer eacqui t
ted,int hemeanwhi lehisrightt ohol doff
icehadbeennul lif
ied.
Clearl
y ,therewoul dbei nsuchacaseani njusticesuf f
eredbyhi m.Norishet heonl yvicti
m.
Therei si nj
usti
cei nfli
ct edl i
kewi seont hepeopl eofLi anga.Theywer edeprivedoft heser vi
ces
ofthemant heyhadel ectedtoser v
easmay or.Inthatsense,t
oparaphraseJust
iceCardozo,
theprotr
act
edcontinuanceoft hisprev
enti
vesuspensionhadoutrunt
heboundsofr easonand
resul
tedinsheeroppressi
on.Adeni alofdueprocessisthusqui
temanifest.I
tist
oav oi
dsuch
anunconsti
tuti
onalappli
cati
ont hatt
heorderofsuspensi
onshouldbeli
ft
ed.

Mor eov er,int heear l

iercaseofGar ciav.TheExecut iveSecr etary,(
6SCRA1[ 1962] )wer ul
edon
thei ssueast owhet hert hepr eventivesuspensi onbey ondt hemaxi mum per iodof60day s,
prov i
dedi nSect ion35oft heCi v
ilSer v
iceActof1959( Republ i
cAct2260)i sillegalandv oid.
Paul i
noGar cia,thepet it
ionerint heci tedcasewast heChai rmanoft heNat ionalSci ence
Dev elopmentBoar d appoi nted byt he Pr esidentoft he Phi li
ppines.He was char ged wi t
h
electioneer i
nganddi shonest yi
nof f
ice.Pendi ngi nv estigationoft headmi nistrat i
v echar ges
againsthi m, hewassuspendedbyt heExecut iveSecr etarybyaut horityofthePr esi dent .Inv iew
ofhi si ndef i
nite suspensi on,he f il
ed a pet i
ti
on pr ay i
ng i n effectt hatthe 60- dayper iod
prescr i
bedi nt heCi v i
lSer viceLaw f orpr eventivesuspensi onhav ingal r
eadyexpi red,hebe
reinstatedi nt heser vicepur suanttoSect i
on35oft hesai dAct .Ther espondent sopposedt he
pet i
ti
onont hegr oundt hatthepet i
tionerwasapr esi
dent ial appointeeandt herefor enotcov ered
byt he60- daypr ev entivesuspensi onl i
mi tunderSect ion35oft het henCi vi
lSer viceAct .The
respondent smai nt ai
nedt hatt hepet i
ti
onercoul dbei ndef init
elysuspended.I nr ulingi nf avorof
thepet iti
oner ,theCour tstated:

To adoptt he theory ofr espondent st hatan of fi

cerappoi nted by the President,f aci
ng
administ
rativechargescanbepr eventivelysuspendedi ndefini
tely,wouldbet ocount enancea
si
tuati
onwher etheprev enti
vesuspensi oncan,inef fect,bethepenal t
yitselfwithoutaf i
nding
ofguil
taf t
erduehear i
ng,cont rarytot heexpr essmandat eoft heConst it
ution( Noof f
iceror
employeeint heCi vi
lSer vi
ceshal lber emov edorsuspendedexceptf orcauseaspr ovi
dedby
l
aw.[Ar t
.XI I
,Sec.4,Const i
tuti
onoft hePhi l
ippi
nes] )andt heCi vi
lServi
ceLaw ( Noof f
iceror
employeeint heCi vi
lSer vi
ceshal lber emov edorsuspendedexceptf orcauseaspr ovi
dedby
l
awandaf terduepr ocess)....I
nt hegui seofapr eventi
v esuspension,hi
st erm ofofficecould
beshor t
enedandhecoul d,ineffect,ber emov edwi thoutaf i
ndingofacausedul yestabli
shed
aft
erduehear ing,invi
olati
onoft heConst i
tuti
on...(atpp.8-9)

Thequest ion thatnow ari

sesi swhetherornotther ul
ing i
ntheGarci
acasewher ethe
suspensionwasor der
edbynol essthanthePresi
dentoft hePhi
l
ippi
nesisappl
icabl
etoan
el
ectiveoffi
cialfaci
ngcri
minalchar
gesundertheAnt
i-
GraftLawandsuspendedunderSect
ion
13,thereof
.

Theguarant
eetoanequalprotect
ionofthel
awnecessit
atest
heappli
cat
ionoft
her
uli
ngi
nthe
Garci
av.Execut
iveSecr
etar
y.Thus,weexpl
ainedi
ntheLaynocase,
towit
:

..
.Ifthecaseagai nstpet it
ionerLay nower eadmi nistr
at i
veincharact
ertheLocalGov er
nment
Codewoul dbeappl i
cable.I tistherei
ncl ear
lypr ovidedt hatwhilepreventi
vesuspensi oni s
all
owabl efort hecausest her ei
nenumer ated,therei st hi
semphat icl
imitati
onont hedur ati
on
thereof;'
Inallcases, preventivesuspensionshal lnotext endbeyondsixtyday safterthestartof
saidsuspensi on.'(BatasPambansaBl g.337,Sect i
on63( 2),l
astsentence.Thef i
rstsentence
readsasf oll
ows: 'Preventiv
esuspensi onmaybei mposedatanyt imeaftertheissuesar ejoined,
whent hereisr easonabl egr oundtobel i
ev ethatther espondenthascommi t
tedt heactoract s
compl ai
nedof ,whent heev idenceofcul pabil
ityisst rong,whent hegravit
yoft heof fenseso
warrants,orwhent hecont inuanceinofficeoft her espondentinfl
uencethewi tnessesorposea
thr
eatt othesaf etyandi ntegrityofther ecor dsandot herev idence')
.Itmayber ecal
ledt hatt he
pri
nci pl
eagai nsti ndefi
nitesuspensi onappl iesequal l
yt onat ionalgov ernmentof f
icial
s.Soi t
washel dint hel eadingcaseofGar ciav .Hon.Secr etary(116Phi l.348[1962] ).Accordingt ot he
opinionofJust i
ceBar rera:'Toadoptt het heor yofr espondent sthatanof ficerappoi ntedbyt he
President,faci ngadmi nistr
at i
vechar ges,canbepr eventivel
ysuspendedi ndefini
tel
y ,wouldbe
tocount enanceasi t
uati
onwher ethepr ev ent i
v esuspensi oncan,i nef f
ect,bet hepenal tyi t
self
withoutaf indi ngofgui ltafterduehear ing, cont rarytot heexpr essmandat eoft heConst i
tuti
on
andt heCi vilSer v i
ceLaw. '(Ibid.351-352)Fur ther:'I
nt hegui seofapr eventivesuspensi on,hi s
ter
m ofof ficecoul dbeshor t
enedandhecoul dinef fect,ber emov edwi t
houtaf i
ndingofa
causedul yest ablishedaf t
erduehear ing,inv iolationoft heConst itut
ion.'(
Ibid.352)Cl earl
yt hen,
thepol i
cyoft hel awmandat edbyt heConst itutionfrownsatasuspensi onofi ndef i
niteduration.
Inthispar t
icul arcase,t hemer ef actthatpet iti
oneri sf aci
ngachar geundert heAnt i-Gr
af tand
CorruptPr act i
cesActdoesnotj usti
fyadi fferentr uleofl aw.Todosowoul dbet onegat et he
safeguardoft heequal protectionguar antee.( atp.542)

Theappli
cati
onoft heGarci
ai nj
uncti
onagainstpr event
ivesuspensi
onsf oranunreasonable
per
iodoft i
meapplieswithgreaterfor
cetoel ecti
veof f
ici
alsandespeciall
ytothepetit
ioner
whoseter
mi sarelati
vel
yshortone.Theinter
estsoft hesoverei
gnelect
orateandtheprovince
ofZambalescannotbesubordinatedtotheheav ycaseloadoft heSandi
ganbayanandoft hi
s
Court
.

I
twoul dbemostunf ai
rt ot hepeopl eofZambal eswhoel ectedthepeti
ti
onertothehighest
pr
ovinci
aloffi
ceinthei
rcommandi ft heyar edepri
vedofhi sserv
icesforanindef
ini
teperiod
wi
tht heter
minati
onofhi scasepossi blyext endi
ngbey ondhisent
ireter
m simpl
ybecauset he
bi
gnumberofsequest ration,i
ll-
gottenweal th,murder,malver
sati
onofpublicfi
ndsandot her
moreseri
ousof f
ensesplusincidentsandr esoluti
onsthatmaybebr oughttot
heSupremeCour t
pr
eventstheexpedi
teddeterminationofhisi nnocenceorguil
t.

Theor derdatedFebruar
y10,1989suspendi ngthepeti
tionerwit
houtadef i
nit
eperiodcannot
besanct i
oned.Wer ulethathencefor
thapr eventi
vesuspensionofanel ecti
vepublicoffi
cer
underSect i
on13ofRepubl i
cAct3019shoul dbel i
mit
edt otheninet
y(90)day sunderSection
42 ofPr esident
ialDecree No.807,t he Civ
ilServi
ce Decree,which peri
od also appears
reasonableandappropri
ateundert
hecircumstancesofthiscase.

Thepet i
tioneral
soquestionstheappl i
cabil
i
tyofSecti
on13ofRepubli
cAct3019asamended
byBat asanPambansaBl g.192t ohim.Heopi nesthatt
hesuspensi
onprovisi
onasamended
whichqual i
fi
esthepubli
cof f
icerasincumbentdoesnotapplytohi
m si
ncehei snowoccupy
ing
thepositionofgovernorandnotmay or
,theposit
ionwherei
nhewaschar gedundertheAnti
-
GraftLaw.

Thi
sargumentisunt
enabl
e.Thei
ssuewasset
tl
edi
nthecaseofBay
otv
.Sandi
ganbay
an(
128
SCRA383(1984),
int
hiswi
se:

..
.Further,theclaim ofpetiti
onerthathecannotbesuspended becausehei spresentl
y
occupying a positi
on di
ffer
entf r
om t hatunderwhi ch he i
s charged i
s unt
enabl
e.The
amendat or
ypr ovi
sion cl
earl
yst at
est hatanyi ncumbentpubli
cof f
iceragai
nstwhom any
cri
minalpr osecut
ionunderav al
idinf
ormati
onunderRepubl i
cAct3019orf oranyoffense
i
nv ol
vi
ngf raudupont hegovernmentorpublicfundsorpropert
ywhet herasasimpleorasa
complexoff
enseandi nwhatev
erst ageorexecuti
onandmodeofpartici
pati
on,ispendi
ngin
court
,shal
lbesuspendedfr
om of f
ice.Thus,byt
heuseofthewordoff
icethesameappl i
esto
anyoffi
cewhichtheoffi
cerchargedmaybehol di
ng,andnotonl
ytheparti
cularof
fi
ceunder
whichhewascharged.

Onel astpoint.Shoul
dt hepur posesbehi ndpreventivesuspensionssuchaspr eventi
ngthe
abuseoft hepr er
ogati
vesoft heof f
ice,inti
midati
onofwi tnesses,etc.
,becomemani f
est,t
he
respondentcourtisnotbereftofremedi esorsanctions.Thepet i
ti
onermaystil
lbesuspended
butforspecifi
call
yexpressedreasonsandnotf rom anaut omaticappli
cati
onofSecti
on13of
theAnti-
GraftandCorruptPracti
cesAct .

WHEREFORE,t he i
nstantpeti
ti
on is GRANTED.The pr ev enti
ve suspension imposed on
peti
tionerAmorD.Delosobyv i
rt
ueoft heFebruary10,1989r esoluti
onoftheSandi ganbayan
shouldbel i
mitedtoonl yni
nety(90)daysafterwhi chDel osowi l
lassumeonceagai nthe
functionsofgover
norofZambal es,wi
thoutprejudi
cet othecont inuat
ionoft hetrialofthe
pendingcasesagainsthimintheSandiganbay
an.Thisdeci sioni simmediatelyexecutory.No
costs.

SOORDERED.

Fer
nan,C.
J.,Narvasa,Mel
enci
o-Her
rera,Cr
uz,Par
as,Fel
i
ciano,Padi
l
la,Bi
din,Cor
tes,Gr
iño-
Aqui
no,Medi
aldeaandRegal
ado,JJ.
,concur
.

Gancay
coandSar
mient
o,JJ.
,i
sonl
eav
e.

Republ
icoft
hePhi
l
ippi
nes
SUPREMECOURT
Manil
a

ENBANC
G.
R.No.111304 June17,
1994

NEMESIOARTUROS.YABUTandRI
CARDOM.TAMARGO,peti
ti
oner
s,
vs.
OFFICEOFTHEOMBUDSMANandDR.PAULDORAN,r
espondent
s.

Bal
ane,
Tamase,
AlampayLawOf
fi
cef
orpet
it
ioner
s.

Quasha,
Asper
il
la,
Anchet
a,PeñaandNol
asof
orDr
.Paul
Dor
an.

RESOLUTION

VI
TUG,
J.:

Thi
speti
ti
onf
orrevi
ewchall
enges(1)t
heResol
uti
on,dated28June1993,oft
heOff
iceofthe
Ombudsmanf
indi
ngpet
it
ionersgui
l
tyofsi
mplemisconductandoppr
essi
onint
heper
formance
ofoff
ici
alduti
esandrecommendingthepenalt
yofa2-monthsuspensionfrom of
fi
ce,without
pay,
and(2)theOrder
,dated29Jul
y1993,r
eject
ingpet
it
ioner
s'mot
ionforreconsi
derat
ion.

Theoccurr
encethatspar
kedt hi
scontrov
ersyhappenedatar
oundtwoo'cl
ockinaft
ernoonof
16Februar
y1993inalogjammedt raf
fi
cinter
sect
ioninMakat
i.Thei
nci
dent
,forat
ime,hugged
thef
rontpagesofsomemaj ordai
li
es.

PetitionerNemesi oArturoS.Yabut ,ViceMay oroft hemuni cipal i

ty,wasdi recti
ngt rafficatt he
i
nter sectionofSen.Gi lPuy atAv enueandMakat iAv enue,hebei ngconcur r
entlythecommander
oftheTr affi
cManagementDi vi
sionofMakat i
.Ont hatday ,traf fi
cwasunusual lyheav ybecause
ofthe
re-r
out i
ngoft hevehicularflowf rom theEdsa- Pioneer -
Boniar ea.Pr ivaterespondentPaulDor an,
anAmer icannationalandaper manentr esidenti nt hePhi l
ippi nes,wasonboar dhi scari nthe
i
nner mostl aneofMakat iAv enue,appar entl
yint endingt omakeal eftturntoGi lPuy atAv enue
towar dsPasayCi ty.Sincepr ior
itywasgi v
ent ov ehi
clescomi ngf rom Mandal uyong,Dor anand
theot hersinhislanehadbeenmadet owai tforsev eralturns.Whent he"go"si gnalwasf i
nally
given,Dor anstoppedwher eYabutwasandasked" why( ittook)sol ongt omakeal eftt urn?"
PetitionerYabutanswer ed" Sorry,si
r,it
st r
affi
c."Thi sdidnotsat isfyDor anwhoexcl aimed, "who
thehel lar eyou,
"andst uckadi rt
yf ingersignatYabut .Angr ywor dssoont urnedi ntoan
exchangeofpunchesbet weent het wo.Ul t
imat ely,Yabut'st rafficof fi
cersjoinedt hef ray .They
pulledoutDor anf r
om hi scarandst art
edbeat i
nghi m unt ilthreemenr escuedDor anand
broughthi mt othenear byPaci ficStarBui l
ding.Bot hYabutandDor ansuf f
eredi njuriesasa
resultoft hescuffle.

On22Febr uary1993, Dor

anmadeaf ormalcompl ai
ntagainstYabutbeforetheNat i
onalBur
eau
ofI nvest i
gati
on( NBI )
,whichsummonedYabuton24Febr uar
y1993t oappearbef oreit
sAnt i
-
Organi zedCr imeDi v i
sion(AOCD) .Yabutaskedf orfi
ve( 5)dayswithinwhi chtof i
l
ecounter-
affi
dav its;theNBIgav ehi
mt wo( 2)day s.On26Febr uary1993,Yabutfi
ledhisaf f
idavi
tandthat
ofhi swi tnesses.TheNBIf ort
hwi thindor sedthecasetorespondentOf fi
ceoft heOmbudsman
(Adm.CaseNo.0- 93-0087),whichpr ompt l
yimposeda
ninety-day pr eventi
v e suspension on Yabut .On 2 Mar ch 1993,Yabutmov ed fort he
reconsi derati
onoft hesuspensi onor der.InanOr der,dat
ed12Mar ch1993,t heOmbudsman,
throughOv erall
Deput yOmbudsmanFr anciscoVil
la,r
esolvedthemotion,thus:

WHEREFORE,
inv
iewoft
hef
oregoi
ng,
iti
sher
ebyORDEREDt
hat
:

1. Thecomplai
nantbef
urnishedwi
thcopiesoft
heaff
idavi
tsoft
herespondentandhi
s
witnesses,andf
orthefor
mer
,ifhesodesi
res,
tomakearepl
ytheret
owi
thi
nten(10)daysf
rom
receiptoft
hesame;

2. RicardoM.Tamargo,1securit
yaideoft herespondent,benamedasaco-respondentin
theabov e-
enti
tl
edcase;thathebef ur
nishedwi t
hcopi esoft heswornstat
ement soft he
complai
nantandhi switnesses;andt hathemayf i
l
ef urt
herresponsi
vepl
eadings,i
fheso
desi
res,withi
nten(
10)daysfrom recei
ptoft hesame;

3. Theresol
uti
onoft herespondent'
smot i
ontoli
ftsuspensi
onorderbehel
dinabey
ance
unt
ilandaft
ertherespect
ivepl
eadings/ev
idenceoft
heparti
eshavebeensubmitt
ed.
2
Thereupon,theparti
essubmi t
tedthei
rr espect
iveevi
denceconsi
sti
ngoft heswornstat
ements
ofYabut ,Eleuter
io Qui
ñones,Jr.,Ricardo Tamargo,Robert
o Barbozaand Cecil
iaConcha-
Colmenares,forpeti
ti
oners,
andof
Dr.PaulDoran,AlexPastr
ana,Epif
anioDagzaandHar ol
dQuenery
,forpri
vater
espondentDor
an.

Duringtheprel
iminar
yconferencehel don19May1993, confor
mablywithRul
eIII
,Secti
on5,of
Admi ni
str
ati
veOrderNo.07,ot herwiseknownast he"RulesofPr ocedur
eoftheOf f
iceofthe
Ombudsman, "theparti
esagr eedt osubmi tt
hecasef orr esol
uti
on.Yabutal
somov edf ort
he
l
if
tingofhi sprevent
ivesuspensi on.Thef ol
l
owingday ,thepr ev
enti
vesuspensi
onor derwas
l
if
ted.Thepar ti
eswer eeachgi venf i
fteen(15)dayswi thinwhichtosubmittheirr
especti
ve
memor anda.YabutandTamar gof i
l
edt heirmemorandum on3June1993; Dor
andecidednotto
fi
l
eany .

On28June1993, theinv
est
igat
ingof
fi
cer(AmyAnadeVi ll
a-Roser
o)submit
tedthequest
ioned
Resoluti
on3cont
aini
ngherfi
ndi
ngsandrecommendation.Theresolut
ionwasapprov
edbyt he
Overall
DeputyOmbudsman.Thedecr
etal
partoft
heresolut
ionread:

WHEREFORE, pr
emisesconsidered,andpur suanttoSection25ofR. A.No.6770andSect i
on10
ofAdmini
str
ativ
eOr derNo.07oft hisOffice,itisrespectf
ullyrecommendedt hatrespondent
s
YabutandTamar gobemet edwi t
ht hepenal tyofsuspensi onf rom offi
cewit
houtpayf ora
peri
odoft
wo( 2)mont hsef
fecti
veuponr eceiptofacopyoft hisresolut
ion.

SORESOLVED.
4

Peti
ti
onerYabutfi
leda" Moti
onforCl
ari
fi
cati
on/
Reconsi
der
ati
on.
"InanOr
der
,dat
ed29Jul
y
1993,publ
i
crespondentdeni
edthemot
ion;v
iz.
:

FI
NDINGnov al
idr
easontorever
seormodifyanyfi
ndi
nginthedisput
edr
esol
uti
ondat
ed28
June1993,
thi
sOff
iceher
ebyDENIESr
espondent
'
sinst
antmot
ion.
5

Induetime,peti
tionersfi
l
edt heinst
ant"Pet
it
ionforRevi
ew,"cont
endingthattheOmbudsman
(1)misappreci
atedt heev i
dence;(2)err
edinnotcr edit
ingpeti
ti
oner'
speriodofpreventi
ve
suspensi
on;and( 3)err
edinimposingthepenalt
yoftwo-monthsuspensi
onfrom of
fi
ce,wit
hout
pay,f
ornotbeingcommensur at
ewi t
hthebarefi
ndingofsi
mplemisconduct.

Prefatori
ly,i
tmaybewel ltostr
esst hatappealsf r
om decisions/r
esolut
ionsoftheOmbudsman
i
nadmi nistr
ati
vecasesmaymer el
yraisequestionsoflaw.Fact ualfi
ndingsoftheOmbudsman,
unlesscl earl
yunsubst
antiat
ed,areconclusive;inf i
ne,itisonlywhent her
eisgraveabuseof
di
scr eti
onbyt heOmbudsmant hatar evi
ewoff act
ualfindingscanaptlybemade.Specifical
l
y,
Section27ofRepubl icActNo.6770( AnActPr ovi
dingForTheFunct i
onalAndStructur
al
OrganizationOfTheOfficeOfTheOmbudsman, AndForOt herPurposes)provi
des:

Sec.27. Eff
ecti
vi
tyandFinal
i
tyofDecisions.—(1)Al
lpr
ovi
sionar
yor
der
satt
heOf
fi
ceof
theOmbudsmanarei
mmediatel
yeffect
iveandexecut
ory.

Amot i
onforreconsi
derat
ionofanyorder
,di
rect
iveordeci
sionoft
heOffi
ceoft
heOmbudsman
mustbef i
l
edwi t
hinfi
ve(5)daysaft
errecei
ptofwri
ttennot
iceandshal
lbeent
ert
ainedonl
yon
anyofthefol
l
owi nggr
ounds:
(1) New ev
idencehasbeendi
scov
ered whi
chmat
eri
all
yaf
fect
stheor
der
,di
rect
iveor
deci
si
on;

(2) Er ror
soflaw orir
regulari
ti
eshav ebeencommi t
tedprejudici
alt
otheinter
estofthe
movant.Themotionforreconsiderat
ionshal
lberesolv
edwithint hr
ee(3)daysfrom f
il
ing:
Prov
ided,
Thatonl
yonemot i
onf orreconsi
der
ati
onshal
lbeent
ertained.

Fi
ndingsoffactbytheOffi
ceoftheOmbudsmanwhensuppor t
edbysubstanti
alevi
dencear
e
concl
usiv
e.Anyorder,
dir
ecti
veordeci
sioni
mposingthepenal
tyofpubl
iccensureorr
epri
mand,
suspensi
onofnotmor et
hanonemonth'ssal
aryshal
lbefi
nalandunappeal
able.

I
nalladmini
str
ati
vediscipli
nar
ycases,or der
s,directi
ves,ordecisionsoftheOf fi
ceofthe
Ombudsmanmaybeappeal edt
ot heSupremeCour tbyf i
li
ngapet i
ti
onforcert
ior
ariwit
hint
en
(
10)daysfr
om recei
ptoft hewrit
tennoti
ceoft heor der
,direct
iveordeci
sionordenialoft
he
mot
ionforr
econsi
derat
ioninaccordancewithRule45oft heRulesofCourt
.

Theabover
ulesmaybeamendedormodifi
edbyt
heOf
fi
ceoft
heOmbudsmanast
hei
nter
est
ofj
ust
icemayrequi
re.(
Emphasi
ssuppl
i
ed.
)

I
nconsonancewit
ht hef
oregoi
ng,andont hebasisofArti
cleXI
,Secti
on13(8)oft
he1987
Const
it
uti
on,
6Sect
ion7ofAdmi ni
str
ati
veOrderNo.07(Rul
esofProcedur
eoft
heOffi
ceoft
he
Ombudsman)waspromul
gated.Sect
ion7ther
eofexpr
esses:

Sec.7.Fi nali
tyofDecision.— Wheretherespondentisabsolvedoft hecharge,andincaseof
convictionwher ethepenaltyimposedispubli
ccensur eorrepri
mand,suspensi onofnotmor e
thanonemont h,oraf ineequiv
alenttoonemont hsal
ary,thedecisionshal lbefi
naland
unappeal able.Inal
lothercases,t
hedecisi
onshal lbecomefinalaft
ertheexpirati
onoften(10)
daysf rom receiptther
eofbytherespondent,
unl essamoti
onf orreconsi
derati
onorpetiti
onfor
cert
iorar ishallhavebeenf il
edbyhi m aspr escri
bedinSect i
on27ofRA 6770.( Emphasis
supplied.)

Clear
ly,anappealthenbycerti
orar
itothi
sCour twoul
dbethecorrectr
emedy,absentaclear
caseofgr aveabuseofdiscr
eti
onont hepartoftheOmbudsmaninwhichlat
tercaseRule65
mayexcept i
onal
lybeinv
okedpursuanttoSecti
on1,Art
icl
eVI
II
,oft
he1987Consti
tuti
on.7

I
nthei
nst
antpet
it
ion,
wef
indnei
theraner
rorofl
awnorgr
aveabuseofdi
scr
eti
onont
hepar
tof
t
heOmbudsman.

Theinci
dentof16Febr uary1993wasmostunf ort
unat e.Theat tendantci rcumstances,itmight
besaid,couldhav ewellcausedtemperst
or i
seandpat iencet obreak; neverthel
ess,theyserved
noexcusef orthemaul i
ngandshoot i
nginci
dent sthatf ollowed.Whi lewecer t
ainl
ywoul dnot
condonet heactofpr ovocati
onmadebyDor an,whi chi nthewor dsofpet i
ti
onerswasnol ess
than"anactofspi te,
degradati
onandmocker y,"i
tdidnot ,howev er,j
ustif
yanequal lyabhorrent
react
ionfrom them.Pet it
ioner
swer epubli
cof fi
cers;Dor anwasnot .Wesecondt heSolicit
or
Generali
nt hisobservat
ion:

Apubl
i
cof
fi
cial
,mor
eespeci
all
yanel
ect
edone,shoul
dnotbeoni
onski
nned.St
ri
ctper
sonal
disci
pli
nei sexpectedofanoccupantofapubl icoffi
cebecauseapublicof f
ici
ali
sapr oper
tyof
thepublic.Hei sl
ookedupont osettheexampl ehowpublicoff
ici
alsshoul dcor
rect
lyconduct
themselvesev eninthefaceofextremepr ovocat
ion.Al
way sheisexpect edtoactandser ve
withthehi ghestdegreeofr esponsi
bil
it
y,integr
ity
,loyal
tyand effi
ciencyand shallremain
accountablef orhi
sconducttothepeople.

Petit
ionerYabutur gest hathi spreventi
vesuspensionof82day sshoul dbecreditedt othe
penaltyof2- monthsuspensi oni mposedonhi m.A prev enti
vesuspensi ondecreedbyt he
Ombudsmanbyv irt
ueofhi sauthori
tyunderSecti
on21ofRepubl icActNo.6770,inr el
ationto
Secti
on9ofAdmi nistrati
veOr derNo.07,isnotmeantt obeapenal tybutameanst akent o
i
nsuret hepr operandi mpar ti
alconductofaninvesti
gati
on.Wehav eruled,i
nanumberoft imes
before,thatapr eventivesuspensionmaybeor der
edev enbef or
et hechargesar
ehear d,aswel l
asbef oret heoffi
cialconcer nedisgivenanoppor t
unit
ytopr ovehi si
nnocence,bei
ngmer elya
measur et hati
spr eciselydesignedinordernottohampert henor malcourseofaninvestigati
on
thr
ought heuseofi nfluenceandaut hori
ty.
8

WHEREFORE,
thepet
it
ioni
sDI
SMI
SSEDf
orl
ackofmer
it
.Nospeci
alpr
onouncementoncost
s.

SOORDERED.

Nar
vasa,C.J.
,Cruz,Fel
i
ciano,Padil
la,Bi
din,Regal
ado,Dav
ide,Jr
.,Romer
o,Bel
l
osi
l
lo,Mel
o,
Qui
ason,PunoandKapunan,JJ.
,concur.

Mendoza,
J.,
tooknopar
t.

#Foot
not
es

1 Pet
it
ionerRi
cardoTamargowasorder
edimpleadedint headminist
rat
ivecaseaf
ter
st
ati
ngi
nhisaffi
dav
itt
hatheshott
wo(2)t
ir
esofDor
an'scardur
ingthei
ncident.

2 Rol
l
o,pp.45-
47.

3 Theresol
uti
onr ef
erstotheadmini
strat
iveaspectoft
hecr
imi
nalcompl
aint(docket
edas
OMB-0-93-
0356endor sedbyt heNBIt otheOf fi
ceoft heOmbudsman)againstViceMayor
Yabutf
orGr aveMisconduct,
Oppressi
on,GraveAbuseofAuthor
it
yandConductUnbecomingof
aPubli
cOf f
icer
.

4 Rol
l
o,pp.79-
81.

5 Rol
l
o,pp.83-
84.

6 "(
8) Pr omulgat
eit
srulesofprocedureandexer
cisesuchot
herpower
sorper
for
m
suchf
uncti
onsordut
iesasmay
beprovi
dedbyl aw.
"

7 Sec.1.Thejudi
cial
powershal
lbev
est
edi
noneSupr
emeCour
tandi
nsuchl
owercour
ts
asmaybeestabli
shedbylaw.
Judici
alpowerincl
udest hedutyofthecour
tsofjusti
cetosett
leactualcontr
oversi
esi
nvolv
ing
ri
ghtswhicharelegal
lydemandableandenforceabl
e,andtodet
erminewhet herornott
herehas
beenagr aveabuseofdi scr
eti
onamountingtolackorexcessofjur
isdi
ctiononthepartofany
branchorinst
rumentali
tyoftheGovernment
.

8 Ner
avs.Gar
ciaandEl
i
caño,
106Phi
l
.1031,
cit
edi
nEspi
ri
tuv
s.Mel
gar
,206SCRA256.

RAMIRR.PABLI
CO,pet
iti
oner
,vs.ALEJANDROA.VI
LLAPANDO,
respondent
.
DECISION
YNARES-
SANTIAGO,J.
:

Maylocallegi
slat
ivebodi
esand/ortheOffi
ceofthePresi
dent,onappeal
,val
i
dlyi
mposet
he
penal
tyofdismi
ssalfr
om ser
viceonerr
ingel
ect
ivel
ocal
offi
cial
s?

Thispurelylegalissuewasposedi nconnectionwit
hadi sput
eov erthemay oral
tyseatofSan
Vicent
e,Palawan.Consideringthattheterm ofthecontest
edoffi
ceexpiredonJune30, 2001,[1]
thepresentcasemaybedi smissedf orhavingbecomemootandacademi c.
[2]Nonethel
ess, we
resol
vedtopassupont heabove-statedissueconcer
ningtheappli
cati
onofcer t
ainprovi
sionsof
theLocalGov ernmentCodeof1991.

Theundi
sput
edf
act
sar
easf
oll
ows:

OnAugust5,1999,Sol omonB.Maagad,andRenat oM.Fer nandez,bot hmember soft he

Sangguni ang Bay an ofSan Vi cente,Palawan,f il
ed withtheSangguni ang Panlal
awigan of
Palawananadmi nistrat
ivecomplaintagainstrespondentAlej
andr oA.Villapando,thenMay orof
SanVi cent e,Palawan,f orabuseofaut hori
tyandcul pabl
ev i
olati
onoft heConst i
tution.[
3]
Compl ainantsallegedt hatrespondent,onbehalfofthemuni cipalit
y,enteredintoaconsul tancy
agreementwi thOr landoM.Ti ape,adef eatedmay oralt
ycandi dateintheMay1998el ect i
ons.
Theyar guet hatt heconsul t
ancyagr eementamount edt oanappoi nt
mentt oagov ernment
posit
ion wi thint he prohibi
ted one-y
earper iod underAr ti
cleI X-B,Sect i
on 6,oft he 1987
Constituti
on.

Inhisanswer,r
espondentcount
eredt
hathedidnotappointTi
ape,rat
her
,hemerel
yhiredhim.
Hei nv
okedOpi ni
onNo.106,s.1992,oft heDepar
tmentofJust i
cedatedAugust21,1992,
stat
ingthattheappoint
mentofadef eat
edcandi
datewithinoneyearfr
om theelect
ionasa
consul
tantdoesnotconsti
tut
eanappoint
menttoagovernmentoffi
ceorposi
ti
onaspr ohi
bit
ed
bytheConsti
tuti
on.

OnFebruary1,2000,theSangguniangPanlalawi
ganofPal
awanf oundrespondentguiltyofthe
admini
str
ati
vechargeandi mposedonhi mthepenalt
yofdi
smissalfrom ser
vice.
[4]Respondent
appeal
edtot heOfficeofthePresidentwhich,onMay29,2000,affir
medt hedeci si
onoft he
Sangguni
angPanlalawiganofPal
awan. [
5]

Pendi
ngrespondent
smot i
onf orr
econsi
derati
onofthedecisi
onoftheOff
iceofthePresident,
oronJune16,2000,pet
it
ionerRamirR.Pabli
co,t
henVice-
may orofSanVi
cente,
Palawan,took
hi
soathofof f
iceasMuni ci
palMayor.Consequent
ly,r
espondentfi
ledwi
ththeRegionalTrial
CourtofPal awanapet iti
onforcerti
orariandpr ohibit
ionwi thpreli
minaryi nj
uncti
onandpr ayer
forat empor aryrest
rai
ningorder,docketedasSPLPr oc.No.3462. [
6]Thepet i
ti
on,seekst o
annul,i
nteralia,t
heoat hadmini
steredt opetiti
oner.TheExecut i
veJudgegr ant
edaTempor ary
Restrai
ningOr dereff
ecti
vefor72hour s,asar esultofwhi chpetiti
onerceasedf rom di
schargi
ng
thefunctionsofmay or.Meanwhile,thecasewasr af f
ledtoBr anch95whi ch,onJune23, 2000,
deni
edr espondent smot i
onforextensionoft he72- hourtempor aryrestrai
ningorder.
[7]Hence,
peti
ti
onerr esumedhi sassumpti
onoft hef uncti
onsofMay orofSanVi cente,Pal
awan.

OnJuly4,2000,respondenti
nsti
tut
edapeti
ti
onforcerti
orari
andprohibi
ti
onbef
oretheCourtof
Appeal
sseekingt oannul:(
1)theMay29,2000deci si
onoft heOf
ficeofthePresi
dent
;(2)the
Febr
uary1,2000,decisionoftheSangguni
angPanlalawiganofPalawan;and(
3)theJune23,
2000orderoftheRegionalTri
alCour
tofPal
awan,Branch95.

OnMar ch16,2001,theCourtofAppeals[
8]declar
edv oi
dtheassai l
eddecisionsoftheOff
iceof
thePresi
dentandt heSangguniangPanlal
awiganofPal awan,andor deredpetit
ionert
ovacate
theOffi
ceofMay orofSanVi cent
e,Palawan.[
9]Amot i
onforr econsider
ationwasdeniedon
Apri
l23,2001.
[10]Hence,t
heinstantpeti
ti
onforrevi
ew.

Theper
ti
nentpor
ti
onofSect
ion60oft
heLocal
Gov
ernmentCodeof1991pr
ovi
des:

Secti
on60.GroundsforDi
sci
pli
nar
yActi
ons.Anelect
ivelocaloff
ici
almaybedi
sci
pli
ned,
suspended,
orr
emovedfr
om of
fi
ceonanyoft
hefol
l
owinggrounds:

xxxxxxxxx

Anelect
ivel
ocaloff
ici
almayber emovedfr
om of
fi
ceont
hegr
oundsenumer
atedabov
eby
or
derofthepr
opercourt
.(Emphasi
ssuppl
i
ed)

Iti
sclearfr
om thel astparagr aphoft heaforecit
edpr ovi
sionthatt
hepenalt
yofdismissalfr
om
servi
ceuponaner ringelectivel ocalof f
ici
almaybedecr eedonlybyacour toflaw.Thus,in
Salal
ima,etal
.v .Gui ngona,etal .,
[11]wehel dt hat[t
]heOf fi
ceofthePresi
dentiswithoutany
powert or
emov eelect edoff
icials,sincesuchpoweri sexclusi
velyv
estedi
nthepropercourtsas
expressl
yprov
idedf ori nt
hel astpar agraphoft heaforequotedSecti
on60.

Arti
cl
e124( b)
,RuleXI Xoft
heRulesandRegul ationsImplementi
ngt heLocalGov er
nmentCode,
howev er,addsthat( b)Anelect
ivelocaloffi
cialmayber emovedf rom off
iceont hegrounds
enumer atedinpar agraph(a)ofthisAr t
icl
e[ Thegr oundsenumer at
edi nSect i
on60,Local
GovernmentCodeof1991]byor derofthepr opercourtorthedi sci
pli
ningauthori
tywhichev
er
fi
rstacqui r
esjuri
sdicti
ontot heexclusi
onoft heother.Thediscipli
ningauthorit
yref
erredto
pert
ains t o the Sangguniang Panl al
awigan/ Panl
ungsod/Bayan and t he Of fi
ce of the
Presi
dent .
[12]

AsheldinSalali
ma, [
13]thi
sgr anttothedisciplini
ngauthorit
yoft hepowert oremov eelecti
ve
l
ocaloff
ici
alsisclearl
ybeyondt heauthor
it
yoft heOversi
ghtCommi tteet
hatpreparedtheRules
andRegulat
ions.Nor uleorregulat
ionmayal ter,amend,orcont r
av eneaprovi
sionofl aw,such
astheLocalGov ernmentCode.I mplementi
ngr ulesshouldconform, notcl
ash,withthelawthat
theyi
mplement ,
f oraregul
ati
onwhi choperatest ocreatearuleoutofhar monywi ththestat
ute
i
sanul l
i
ty.EvenSenat orAquil
inoQ.Pi mentel
, Jr.,
thepri
ncipalauthoroftheLocalGov ernment
Codeof1991,
expr
esseddoubtast
othev
ali
dit
yofAr
ti
cle124(
b),
Rul
eXI
Xoft
hei
mpl
ement
ing
rul
es.
[14]

Ver
il
y,t
heclearl
egisl
ati
veint
enttomaket hesubj
ectpowerofr
emov
alaj
udi
cialpr
erogat
ivei
s
pat
entf
rom thedel
i
berati
onsintheSenat
equotedasfoll
ows:

xxxxxxxxx

SenatorPi
ment
el.Thi
shasbeenr
eserved,Mr.Pr
esident,i
ncl
udi
ngtheissueofwhet
herornot
theDepart
mentSecret
aryort
heOffi
ceoft hePresidentcansuspendorremoveanelect
ive
off
ici
al.

Senat orSaguisag.Foraslongast hatisopenf orsomel aterdisposit

ion,mayIj ustaddt he
foll
owi ngthought:I
tseemstomet hatinsteadofi dent
if
y i
ngonl ytheproperr egi
onaltri
alcourt
ortheSandi ganbayan,andsi
nceweknowt hatinthecaseofar egionaltr
ialcourt,
parti
cular
ly,a
casemaybeappeal edormaybet hesubj ectofani nj
unction,i
nt heframi ngofthislateron,I
woul dliketosuggestthatweconsi
derr eplaci
ngthephr asePROPERREGI ONALTRI ALCOURT
ORTHESANDI GANBAYAN simplybyCOURTS.Kasipo,maaar ingsabihinni l
anamal iiy
ong
regional t
ri
alcourtoangSandi
ganbayan.

Senat
orPi
ment
el.ORTHEPROPERCOURT.

Senat
orSagui
sag.ORTHEPROPERCOURT.

Senat
orPi
ment
el.Thanky
ou.Wear
ewi
l
li
ngt
oacceptt
hatnow,
Mr.Pr
esi
dent
.

Senat
orSagui
sag.I
tistobeincor
por
atedi
nthephr
aseol
ogyt
hatwi
l
lcr
aftt
ocapt
uret
heot
her
i
deasthathav
ebeenelevat
ed.

xxxxxxxxx.
[15]

Itisbey ondcav i
l
, therefore,thatthepowert oremov eerringel ect i
v elocalof fi
cial
sfrom service
i
sl odged excl usivelywi tht hecour t
s.Hence,Ar ti
cle124 ( b) ,Rul eXI X,oft heRul esand
Regul at
ions Impl ement i
ng t he LocalGov ernmentCode,i nsof aras i tv ests poweron t he
discipli
ningaut hor it
yt or emov efrom of f
iceer ringelect iv
el ocalof fi
cials,isv oi
df orbei ng
repugnantt ot hel astpar agraphofSect i
on60oft heLocalGov er nmentCodeof1991.Thel aw
onsuspensi onorr emov alofel ect
ivepublicof f
icialsmustbest ri
ct l
yconst ruedandappl i
ed,and
theaut hor i
tyinwhom suchpowerofsuspensi onorr emov alisv estedmustexer cisei twith
utmostgoodf aith,forwhati sinvolvedisnotj ustanor dinarypubl icof f
icialbutonechosenby
thepeopl ethr
ought heexer ciseoft hei
rconst it
ut i
onalrightofsuf frage.Thei rwillmustnotbe
putt onaughtbyt hecapr iceorpar ti
sanshipoft hedisciplini
ngaut horit
y.Wher ethediscipli
ning
author i
tyisgiv enonl ythepowert osuspendandnott hepowert or emov e,itshouldnotbe
permi tt
edt omani pulatethel awbyusur pingt hepowert or emov e.[16]Asexpl ai
nedbyt heCour t
i
nLacsonv .Roque: [
17]

t
heabr i
dgmentoft hepowertoremoveorsuspendanelect
ivemayorisnotwi t
houtit
sown
j
usti
fi
cati
on,andwas,wethink,
deli
ber
atel
yint
endedbyt
helawmakers.Theevil
sresul
ti
ngfr
om
arest
ri
ctedauthor
it
ytosuspendorremovemusthavebeenweighedagainstt
heinj
usti
cesand
har
ms t ot he publ
i
cinterest
s which woul
d be l
i
kel
yto emer
ge f
rom an unr
est
rai
ned
di
scret
ionar
ypowertosuspendandremove.

WHEREFORE,
inv
iewoft
hef
oregoi
ng,
thei
nst
antpet
it
ionf
orr
evi
ewi
sDENI
ED.

SOORDERED.

Dav
ide,Jr
.,C.
J.,Bell
osi
llo,Puno,Vi
tug,Kapunan,Mendoza,Pangani
ban,Qui
sumbi
ng,Sandov
al-
Gut
ier
rez,
Carpio,Austr
ia-Marti
nez,
andCor ona,JJ.
,concur
.

[
1]SeeRol
l
o,p.422.

[
2]Malal
uanv.CommissiononElect
ions,etal.
,254SCRA397,403-404[
1996]
,
cit
ingAti
enzav
.
Commissi
ononElect
ions,239SCRA298[ 1994]
;Abej
av.Taada,236SCRA60[1994]
;Yoracv
.
Magal
ona,3SCRA76[1961].

[
3]Rol
l
o,p.74.

[
4]Rol
l
o,p.135.

[
5]Rol
l
o,p.208.

[
6]Rol
l
o,p.212.

[
7]CARol
l
o,p.94.

[
8]Thi
rdDiv
isi
on,composedofAssoci
ateJusti
cesHil
ari
onL.Aqui
no(
ponent
e);JoseL.Sabi
o,
Jr
.(member)
;andMa.Ali
ciaAust
ri
a-Mar
ti
nez(chai
rman).

[
9]Rol
l
o,p.32.

[
10]Rol
l
o,p.55.

[
11]257SCRA55,
100[
1996]
.

[12]Sect
ion61.Form andFili
ngofAdminist
rat
iveCompl
aint
s.-
--Av
eri
fi
edcompl
aintagai
nst
anyerri
nglocal
elect
iveof
fi
cialshal
lbepr
eparedasfol
l
ows:

(
a)A compl aintagai
nstany elect
ive of
fi
cialofa prov
ince,a hi
ghl
y ur
bani
zed ci
ty,an
i
ndependentcomponentci
tyorcomponentcit
yshal
lbef
il
edbeforet
heOffi
ceoft
hePresi
dent;

(b)A complai
ntagainstanyelect
ive of
fi
cialofa muni
cipal
i
tyshal
lbe f
il
ed bef
orethe
sangguni
angpanl
alawi
ganwhosedeci
sionmaybeappeal
edtotheOf
fi
ceoft
hePresi
dent;
and

(c)Acomplai
ntagainstanyel
ect
ivebar
angayoff
ici
alshal
lbefil
edbeforethesangguni
ang
panl
ungsodorsangguni
angbay
anconcer
nedwhosedeci
sionshal
lbef
inalandexecut
ory
.

[
13]Supr
a,ci
ti
ngRegi
dorv
.Chi
ongbi
an,
173SCRA507[
1989]
;Teoxonv
.Member
soft
heBoar
d
ofAdmini
str
ator
s,PVA,33SCRA585[
1970]
;Manuelv
.Gener
alAudi
ti
ngOf
fi
ce,42SCRA660
[
1971]
.

[
14]Aquil
i
no Q.Piment
el,Jr.
,TheLocalGov
ernmentCodeof1991,TheKeyt
o Nat
ional
Dev
elopment
,171[
1993ed.]
.

[
15]Del
i
ber
ati
onsoft
heSenat
eont
heLocalGov
ernmentCodeof1991,
August1,
1990,
pp.39-
40.

[
16]Sal
ali
mav
.Gui
ngona,
supr
a.

[
17]92Phi
l
.456,
464[
1953]
.