The Court of Appeals (CA) has reversed the 2018 and 2021 rulings of the Office of the President (OP) which affirmed the validity of the dismissal in 2014 of lawyers Reynaldo O. Esmeralda and Ruel M. Lasala as deputy directors of the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI).
The CA granted the appeal filed Esmeralda and Lasala against the OP’s rulings and those issued by the NBI and the Department of Justice (DOJ).
The decision was written by Associate Justice Mary Charlene V. Hernandez-Azura with the concurrence of Associate Justices Walter S. Ong and Florencio M. Mamauag Jr.
The CA’s decision stated:
“WHEREFORE, the instant petition is GRANTED. The Decision dated 12 December 2018 and the Resolution dated 27 January 2021 both promulgated by the Office of the President in OP Case No. 14-C-073 are hereby REVERSED and SET ASIDE and a new one is rendered ordering the:
“1. Immediate reinstatement of petitioner Atty. Reynaldo O. Esmeralda to his former position as NBI Directors III (Deputy Director), or its equivalent rank under R. A. 10867, without loss of seniority rights and without gap in the continuity of their government service as if he was not removed therefrom from the time of his illegal dismissal/removal from government service on March 13, 2014 up the present, even pending appeal.
“2. Immediate payment of petitioner Atty. Reynaldo O. Esmeralda’s full back wages, salaries, incentives, benefits, and other monetary privileges and emoluments at the current rate from the time of his actual dismissal from government service as stated above until the finality of this Decision, as if he was not actually dismissed from the service.
“3. Immediate payment of petitioner Atty. Ruel M. Lasala’s full back wages, salaries, incentives, benefits, and other monetary privileges and emoluments at the current rate from the time of his actual dismissal from government service as stated above until he reached the compulsory age of retirement and all the retirement and leave privileges that are due him as a retiring employee in accordance with law. SO ORDERED.”
In its rulings, the OP said that the position of NBI deputy director III is considered a third level position which requires third-level eligibility such as the Career Executive Service (CES). Thus, it said, a CES employee can only attain security of tenure if he or she is CES eligible and is appointed to appropriate CES rank.
The OP pointed out that since Esmeralda and Lasala donot possess the required CES eligibility, they are considered as mere temporary appointees, who do not enjoy security of tenure.
On March 13, 2014, then Justice Secretary Leila M. de Lima issued Department Order No. 192 directing Esmeralda and Lasala to fully wind up and turn over their affairs to the newly appointed NBI Deputy Directors Ricardo Pangan Jr. and Antonio Pagatpat.
Esmeralda and Lasala appealed to the OP and pointed out that their removal from their posts was tantamount to dismissal from the service.
They said that de Lima committed grave abuse of discretion and violated their right to due process when they were dismissed without giving them the opportunity to controvert the accusations against them.
Also, they said that de Lima removed them from their posts on accusation that they were the ones who tipped informed alleged pork barrel scam mastermind Janet Lim Napoles on the issuance of an arrest order against the latter.
When their appeal was denied by the OP, they elevated the case to the CA. They told the appellate court that their positions as deputy directors are “highly specialized in nature’ requiring highly technical, if not, scientific, expertise, which are among the positions excluded from CES coverage.”
They also told the CA that they managerial or executive functions were only incidental to their main investigative functions.
In granting their petition, the CA said:
“The NBI directorial positions belonging to the closed career system whose inherent job responsibilities are scientific and highly specialized and technical in nature were recognized as one of the premises or bases for the issuance of CESB Resolution No. 1560 dated 15 October 2015, which eventually declared the NBI director’s position as beyond the coverage of the CES, thereby expressly repealing Resolution No. 1409 dated 12 July 2018.
“Petitioners’ contested position of NBI Director III or Deputy Director definitely was not covered by the CES.”
At the same time, the CA said that Esmeralda and Lasala are not required to be accredited and qualified Career Executive Service Officers (CESO) with the proper appointment in rank designation as NBI Deputy Directors III before being considered permanent appointees in their contested positions and thus enjoy security of tenure.
The CA also said that Esmeralda and Lasala are qualified to the position having served for a long time as NBI agents until their promotion and appointment as deputy directors having complied with all the qualifications and none of the disqualifications for the said position, foremost among them their being lawyers and their passing of the mental and physical examinations conducted by the NBI Academy in an appropriate qualifying course.
The CA ruled: “The removal of petitioners was illegal and in violation of their right to due process. Hence, petitioners are entitled the payment of back wages and other benefits due them from the time they were replaced up to their reinstatement to their former position without loss of seniority rights.”
TAGS: #CA #NBI #ESMERALDA #LASALA