Good evening ma’am.

I will be discussing the termination of official relations

specifically the abolition and reorganization under the acts of
the government or by the people

SO what constitutes abolition.

Except when restrained by the CONSTITUTION, Congress

has the right to abolish an office, even during the term for
which an existing incumbent may have been elected.

To consider an office abolished, there must have been

intention to do away with it wholly and permanently.
As the word abolish denotes
Meaning, an office ceases to exist

Abolish must be made in good faith with a clear intent to do

away with the office,

not for personal or political reasons,

and cannot be implemented in a manner contrary to law.

As a general rule, Congress may abolish any office it creates

without infringing upon the rights of the officer or employee
affected.

It may be exercised by the President or by local governments

when said power has been delegated to them, or by the
people themselves when they amend the Constitution.

The power to abolish an office may be exercised at any time

and even while the office is occupied.
THAT It does not deprive the incumbent of any constitutional
rights AS He accepts it with the understanding that it may be
abolished at any time.

THE mere change in rank or designation, does not amount to

abolition. AND There is no abolition where the position is the
same one formerly held although it bears a different name.

To "remove" an officer is to oust him from office before the

expiration of his term and implies that the office exists after
the ouster.

A valid abolition also does not constitute removal of the

incumbent.

Removal is to be distinguished from termination by virtue of

the
abolition of the office.

In case of removal, there is an office with an occupant who

would thereby lose his position. It implies that the post
subsists and that one is merely separated therefrom.

Whereas in Abolition, it does not involve or mean removal.

After the abolition, there is in law no occupant.

There can be no tenure to a non-existent office. The right

itself disappeared with the abolished office.
THAT No dismissal or separation arises because the position
itself ceases to exist.

Where abolition done in bad faith.

IS When the purpose is to discharge the incumbent in
violation of the civil service law. If the abolition IS void
because IT IS done with bad faith, the incumbent is deemed
never to have ceased to hold office.

Requisites of valid abolition.

FIRST (a) good faith

SECOND (b) not for personal or political reasons, or in order
to circumvent the incumbent's security of tenure; and
LASTTLY IT IS (c) not implemented in violation of law.

abolition of an office does not amount to an illegal removal

or separation of its incumbent.

The abolition must be done in accordance WHERE a law

specifically prohibits the abolition or prescribes the
procedure or manner for the abolition of a certain office, it
must be strictly followed.

Instances of valid abolition. —

showing good faith:

(a) for reason of economy, where the functions of the
abolished position of Municipal Clerk were light and simple
and could readily be absorbed by other existing offices, and
no one was appointed in his place, nor was a new position
created;398
(b) where the position of assistant provincial assessor was
abolished because of a huge deficit and the duties of the
position which could be dispensed with were performed by
others;399 and

(c) where the functions of the old office were taken over by
the new office created to replace it, which new office also
took over the functions of other offices that had been
likewise absorbed by it.

Termination through reorganization.

Reorganization occurs when there is an alteration of the
existing structure of government offices or units therein.

including the lines of control, authority and responsibility

between them to promote greater efficiency or to effect
economy and make it more responsive to the needs of the
public. It may result in the loss of one's position through
removal or abolition of an office.

Reorganization must be based on a valid purpose such as

the promotion of efficiency and economy in the government
through a pruning of offices or the streamlining of their
functions.

It be done in good faith with an eye to achieving its avowed

objectives without resulting in the removal or reshuffling
without cause of civil service employees in violation of their
constitutional right to security of tenure.
As a rule, the test of good faith lies in whether the purpose of
the reorganization is for economy or to make bureaucracy
more efficient. Termination of official relations as a result of
reorganization must pass the test of good faith.
-

Instances of Invalid Reorganization

qA finding that a reorganization was done in bad faith must
be supported by substantial evidence.
qBut where the abolished office and the offices created in its
place have similar functions, the abolition lacks good faith.
q Where one office is abolished and replaced with another
office vested with similar functions, the abolition is a legal
nullity.

Conviction of a Crime
When the penalties of perpetual or temporary absolute
disqualification or penalties of perpetual or temporary
special disqualification are imposed upon conviction of a
crime, termination of official relations results, for one of the
effects of the imposition of said penalties under Articles 30
and 31 of the Revised Penal Code is the deprivation of the
public office or employment which the offender may have
held, even if conferred by popular election.

MEANING Conviction by final judgment automatically

terminates official relationship
-

What constitutes conviction - There must not only be

adjudication of guilt, by plea or verdict, but in addition, a
judgment whether it imposes a sentence or suspends
sentence.

It contemplates a court finding of guilt beyond reasonable

doubt ---- followed by a judgment upholding such finding.

THAT A plea of guilty accepted by a court, together with a

sentence amounts to conviction CALLS for the removal of an
officer or the discharge of a public employee.

Effects of pardon -
- Pardon granted after conviction
- Frees the individual from all the penalties and legal
disabilities and restores him to all his civil rights.
- Such pardon Restores his eligibility for appointment to that
office.
- Public officer merely removes the disqualification from
holding public employment but it cannot go beyond that.
- A pardon Does not extinguish the civil liability of the
grantee arising from the Crime

The person pardoned may apply for reappointment to THE

office which was forfeited by reason of his conviction and
undergo the usual procedure required for a new
appointment.

While a plenary pardon extinguishes the accessory penalty

of disqualification, it will not restore the public office to the
officer convicted. He must be given a new appointment to the
position. But for reasons of equity, he should not be
reappointed to a lower position than which he formerly
occupied.

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Recall
By this procedure an elective official may be removed at any
time during his term by the vote of the people at an election
called for such purpose or at a general election.

IT IS THE TERMINATION OF OFFICIAL RELATIONSHIP OF

AN ELECTIVE OFFICIAL FOR LOSS OF CONFIDENCE PRIOR
TO THE EXPIRATION OF HIS TERM THROUGH THE WILL OF
THE ELECTORATE

IT is exercised by the registered voters of a local government

unit to which the local elective official subject to such recall
belongs

For the procedure of initiating recall – In provincial, city,

municipal or brgy official shall be initiated upon petition by at
least 25% of the total number of registered voters in the local
government unit concerned.

In the case of angobung vs Comelec, the SC underscored the

need for a petition signed by at least 25% of the total number
of registered voters in the constituency in order to validly
initiate a recall election. The petition is signed only by the
petitioner and does not even bear the names of the citizens
who have allegedly lost confidence in the public official, thus
the petition is dismissed.

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Impeachment
Impeachment has been defined as a method of national
inquest into the conduct of public men.
Its purpose is to protect the people from official
delinquencies.

It is primarily intended for the protection of the State, not for

the punishment of the offender.

Impeachable officials
q President
q Vice-President
q Members of the Supreme Court
q Members of the Constitutional Commissions
q Ombudsman

THEY may be removed from office, on impeachment for, and

conviction of, culpable violation of the Constitution, ALSO
treason, bribery, graft and corruption, other high crimes, or
betrayal of public trust.

All other public officers and employees may be removed

from office as provided by law, but not by impeachment.

Power to initiate and to try impeachment cases - The House

of Representatives has the sole power to initiate all cases of
impeachment while the Senate sits as a court for the trial of
impeachment cases.

In impeachment cases, the judgment shall not extend further

than removal from office and disqualification to hold any
office under the Republic of the Philippines,

but the party convicted shall nevertheless be liable and

subject to prosecution, trial, and punishment according to
law.