Samson v.

CA
G.R. No. L-43182
November 25, 1986

Sec. 8, Art. 9 of the Constitution: Appointments in the civil service shall be

made only according to merit and fitness to be determined, as far as
practicable, and, except to positions which are policy-determining, primarily
confidential, or highly technical, by competitive examination.(positions in
competitive service)

FACTS:
Private respondent Feliciano C. Talens, a civil service eligible, was
appointed on March 16, 1970 by then City Mayor Macario Asistio of Caloocan
City, as Assistant Secretary to the Mayor. His appointment was attested to as a
permanent one under Section 24(b) of Republic Act No, 2260, as amended by
the Commissioner of Civil Service. He performed the duties of Assistant
Secretary to the Mayor and even twice received increases in salary. On January
11, 1972, City Mayor Marcial F. Samson, who succeeded City Mayor Macario
Asistio, furnished private respondent herein with the questioned Administrative
Order No. 3, which terminated the services of private respondent for lack and
loss of confidence since according to petitioner Sec. 5(f) of R.A No. 2260,
otherwise known as the Civil Service Act of 1959, as amended, making the
positions of Secretaries of City Mayors, among others, noncompetitive. Private
Respondent then filed a petition for certiorari, prohibition, mandamus and quo
warranto with the then Court of First Instance of Caloocan City on January 21,
1972, in order to annul the disputed
administrative order, to enjoin the petitioner mayor, treasurer and auditor from
enforcing the same, and to compel all the said public officials to pay to private
respondent the salaries and emoluments due to him as Assistant Secretary to
the Mayor. The CFI rendered judgment in favor of the private respondent,
declaring A.O. No. 3 null and void and granting private respondent all the
remedies he asked for. This was then appealed by petitioner to the CA which
affirmed the decision of the Trial Court.
ISSUE:

1.
Whether or not Feliciano C. Talens as assistant secretary of the city
mayor is in non-competitive service?
HELD:
1.
No, The Court held that Feliciano C. Talens position as assistant
secretary of the city mayor is a competitive service. Under RA 2260(Civil
Service Law)"to insure and promote the constitutional mandate regarding
appointments only according to merit and fitness, and to provide within the
public service a progressive system of personal administration to insure the
maintenance of an honest and efficient progressive and courteous civil service
in the Philippines." As such only those positions declared as non-competitive in
RA 2260 as amended by RA 6640 are non-competitive. Since Assistant
Secretary of the City Mayor is not within the purview of Non-Competitive, The
position must therefore be competitive and can only be removed for just cause.
What was only contemplated by the RA 2260 as non-competitive was Secretary
of the Mayor but not Assistant Secretary which holds a lower position and lower
level of trust as compared to a Secretary.