Gaminde vs. COA, G.R. No. 140335, December 13, 2000 [Case Digest]

 

Gaminde vs. COA,

G.R. No. 140335,    December 13, 2000

En Banc [PARDO, J.]

Facts:

            On June 11, 1993, the President of the Philippines appointed petitioner Thelma P. Gaminde, ad interim, Commissioner, Civil Service Commission. She assumed office on June 22, 1993, after taking an oath of office. On September 07, 1993, the Commission on Appointment, Congress of the Philippines confirmed the appointment.

            Geminde's term will expire on February 2, 1999. On March 24, 1999, CSC Resident Auditor Flovitas U. Felipe issued notice of disallowance No. 99-002-101 (99), disallowing in audit the salaries and emoluments pertaining to petitioner and her co-terminous staff, effective February 02, 1999. On April 5, 1999, petitioner appealed the disallowance to the Commission on Audit en banc. On June 15, 1999, the Commission on Audit issued Decision No. 99-090 dismissing petitioner’s appeal.

 

Issue:

            Whether the term of office of Atty. Thelma P. Gaminde, as Commissioner, Civil Service Commission, to which she was appointed on June 11, 1993, expired on February 02, 1999, as stated in the appointment paper, or on February 02, 2000.

 

Held:

            Yes, the term of office of the Chairman and members of the Civil Service Commission is prescribed in the 1987 Constitution, as follows: "Section 1 (2). The Chairman and the Commissioners shall be appointed by the President with the consent of the Commission on Appointments for a term of seven years without reappointment. Of those first appointed, the Chairman shall hold office for seven years, a Commissioner for five years, and another Commissioner for three years, without reappointment. Appointment to any vacancy shall be only for the unexpired term of the predecessor. In no case shall any Member be appointed or designated in a temporary or acting capacity."

            The appropriate starting point of the terms of office of the first appointees to the Constitutional Commissions under the 1987 Constitution must be on February 02, 1987, the date of the adoption of the 1987 Constitution. In case of a belated appointment or qualification, the interval between the start of the term and the actual qualification of the appointee must be counted against the latter.

            In the law of public officers, there is a settled distinction between "term" and "tenure." "[T]he term of an office must be distinguished from the tenure of the incumbent. The term means the time during which the officer may claim to hold office as of right, and fixes the interval after which the several incumbents shall succeed one another. The tenure represents the term during which the incumbent actually holds the office. The term of office is not affected by the hold-over. The tenure may be shorter than the term for reasons within or beyond the power of the incumbent."

            In concluding that February 02, 1987 is the proper starting point of the terms of office of the first appointees to the Constitutional Commissions of a staggered 7-5-3 year terms, we considered the plain language of Article IX (B), Section 1 (2), Article IX (C), Section 1 (2) and Article IX (D), Section 1 (2) of the 1987 Constitution that uniformly prescribed a seven-year term of office for Members of the Constitutional Commissions, without re-appointment, and for the first appointees terms of seven, five and three years, without re-appointment. In no case shall any Member be appointed or designated in a temporary or acting capacity. There is no need to expressly state the beginning of the term of office as this is understood to coincide with the effectivity of the Constitution upon its ratification (on February 02, 1987).

            However, the transitory provisions do not affect the term of office fixed in Article IX, providing for a seven-five-three year rotational interval for the first appointees under this Constitution.    

            Given the foregoing common starting point, we compute the terms of the first appointees and their successors to the Civil Service Commission under the 1987 Constitution by their respective lines, as follows: First line : Chairman – seven-year term. February 02, 1987 to February 01, 1994. On January 30, 1988, the President nominated Ms. Patricia A. Sto. Tomas Chairman, Civil Service Commission. On March 02, 1988, the Commission on Appointments confirmed the nomination. She assumed office on March 04, 1988. Her term ended on February 02, 1994. She served as de facto Chairman until March 04, 1995. On March 05, 1995, the President appointed then Social Welfare Secretary Corazon Alma G. de Leon, Chairman, Civil Service Commission, to a regular seven-year term. This term must be deemed to start on February 02, 1994, immediately succeeding her predecessor, whose term started on the common date of the terms of office of the first appointees under the 1987 Constitution. She assumed office on March 22, 1995, for a term expiring February 02, 2001.

            On June 11, 1993, the President appointed Atty. Thelma P. Gaminde Commissioner, Civil Service Commission, for a term expiring February 02, 1999. This terminal date is specified in her appointment paper. On September 07, 1993, the Commission on Appointments confirmed the appointment. She accepted the appointment and assumed office on June 22, 1993. She is bound by the term of the appointment she accepted, expiring February 02, 1999. In this connection, the letter dated April 07, 1998, of Deputy Executive Secretary Renato C. Corona clarifying that her term would expire on February 02, 2000, was in error. What was submitted to the Commission on Appointments was a nomination for a term expiring on February 02, 1999. Thus, the term of her successor must be deemed to start on February 02, 1999, and expire on February 02, 2006.

            Thus, we see the regular interval of vacancy every two (2) years, namely, February 02, 1994, for the first Chairman, February 02, 1992, for the first five-year term Commissioner, and February 02, 1990, for the first three-year term Commissioner. Their successors must also maintain the two year interval, namely: February 02, 2001, for Chairman; February 02, 1999, for Commissioner Thelma P. Gaminde, and February 02, 1997, for Commissioner Ramon P. Ereñeta, Jr.

            WHEREFORE, we adjudge that the term of office of Ms. Thelma P. Gaminde as Commissioner, Civil Service Commission, under an appointment extended to her by President Fidel V. Ramos on June 11, 1993, expired on February 02, 1999. However, she served as de facto officer in good faith until February 02, 2000, and thus entitled to receive her salary and other emoluments for actual service rendered. Consequently, the Commission on Audit erred in disallowing in audit such salary and other emoluments, including that of her co-terminous staff.