3. Personnel Actions

JURISDICTION

Jurisdiction in Disciplinary Cases

• The Secretaries and heads of agencies and instrumentalities, provinces, cities and municipalities shall have jurisdiction to investigate and decide matters involving disciplinary action against officers and employees under their jurisdiction. Their decision shall be final in case the penalty imposed is suspension for not more than 30 days or fine in an amount not exceeding 30 days’ salary.
• In case the decision rendered by a bureau or office head is appealable to the Commission, the same may be initially appealed to the department and finally to the Commission and pending appeal, the same shall be executed except when the penalty is removal, in which case the same shall be executory only after confirmation by the Secretary concerned.
• The Commission shall decide upon appeal all administrative disciplinary cases involving the imposition of a penalty of suspension for more than 30 days, or fine in an amount exceeding 30 days’ salary, demotion in rank or salary, transfer, removal or dismissal from office.
• A complaint may be filed directly with the Commission by a private citizen against a government official or employee in which case it may hear and decide the case or it may deputize any department, agency, official, or group of officials to conduct the investigation
• Disciplinary cases and cases involving “personnel actions” affecting employees in the civil service are within the jurisdiction of the Civil Service Commission as provided by law, including its appellate jurisdiction over specified agency decisions; agency heads have disciplinary authority, and the Ombudsman has concurrent authority over administrative cases against public officers.
• Executive Order No. 151 established the Presidential Commission Against Graft and Corruption (historical), which exercised jurisdiction to investigate all administrative complaints involving graft and corruption filed in any form or manner against presidential appointees in the executive department of the government, including those in GOCCs. Such jurisdiction extended to non-presidential appointees who may have acted in conspiracy or who may have been involved with a presidential appointee. EO No. 12 (2001) replaced it with the Presidential Anti-Graft Commission; the later Presidential Anti-Corruption Commission was abolished by EO No. 1 (2022).
• The Sandiganbayan has exclusive original jurisdiction over presidents, directors or trustees, or managers of GOCCs, without any distinction with respect to the manner of their creation, whenever charges of graft and corruption are involved.
• RA No. 4670, otherwise known as the Magna Carta for Public School Teachers, covers and governs administrative proceedings involving public school teachers.

Personnel action

Any action denoting movement or progress of personnel in the civil service. (Rule V, Sec. 1, Omnibus Rules Implementing Book V of EO No. 292, cited in City Mayor Debulgado v. CSC, G.R. No. 111471, September 26, 1994).

Valid personnel actions

• Extending temporary appointment, however, this must not amount to removal.
• Transfer or re-assignment but this must not involve a reduction in rank, status, and salary, without break in service.
• Detail must be made in the interest of public service, absent showing of manifest abuse or improper motive or purpose.

Personnel actions amounting to removal

• Shortening term is removal
• Control does not extend to removal
• Demotion
• Denial of optional retirement and refusal to reinstate

While a temporary transfer or assignment of personnel is permissible even without the employee’s prior consent, it cannot be done when the transfer is a preliminary step toward his removal, or is a scheme to lure him away from his permanent position, or designed to indirectly terminate his service, or force his resignation. Such a transfer would in effect circumvent the provision which safeguards the tenure of office of those who are in the Civil Service. (Garcia v. Lejano, G.R. L-12220, 1960).