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SIMPLICIO C. GRIÑO v. CIVIL SERVICE COMMISSION

FACTS:

The petitioner, Sixto Demaisip, served as the Provincial Attorney of Iloilo for more than a decade before resigning in June 1986. In his resignation letter, Demaisip recommended the elevation of Teotimo Arandela to the position of Provincial Attorney. The Acting Governor subsequently appointed Arandela as Provincial Attorney and promoted Cirilo Gelvezon and appointed Teodolfo Data-on and Nelson Geduspan as legal officers.

In February 1988, Simplicio Grino became the newly elected governor of Iloilo. A month later, he informed Arandela and the other legal officers at the Provincial Attorney's Office of his decision to terminate their services due to loss of trust and confidence. Demaisip was reappointed as Provincial Attorney, and the other legal officers were replaced.

The respondents, Arandela and the other legal officers, appealed their termination to the Merit Systems Protection Board of the Civil Service Commission. The Board declared their termination illegal and ordered their reinstatement with back salaries and benefits. The Civil Service Commission affirmed the Board's decision, and the petitioners filed a motion for reconsideration, which was subsequently denied. The petitioners then filed a petition for review seeking the reversal of the resolutions.

ISSUES:

  1. Whether the position of provincial attorney is primarily confidential in nature.

  2. Whether the termination of the services of the provincial attorney is valid.

  3. Whether or not legal assistants or subordinates of the provincial attorney are considered confidential employees.

  4. Whether or not the legal assistants or subordinates are entitled to security of tenure.

RULING:

  1. Yes, the position of provincial attorney is primarily confidential in nature. The functions, powers, and duties of a city legal officer, as provided in the Local Government Code, are similar to those of the provincial attorney. Both positions serve as legal advisers and officers for civil cases of the local government unit they work for. These functions require a relationship based on trust between the officer and the head of the local government unit. Therefore, the position of provincial attorney is considered to be primarily confidential.

  2. The termination of the services of the provincial attorney is valid. The tenure of an official holding a primarily confidential position ends upon loss of confidence. In this case, the services of the provincial attorney were terminated because the appointing power no longer needed his services. The termination was not a dismissal or removal from office, but rather the expiration of his term.

  3. The legal assistants or subordinates of the provincial attorney are not considered confidential employees. Their positions are highly technical in character and not confidential, so they are permanent employees and belong to the category of classified employees under the Civil Service Law.

  4. The legal assistants or subordinates are entitled to security of tenure. As permanent employees, they enjoy the protection of security of tenure as guaranteed under the Constitution.

PRINCIPLES:

  • The right of a client to terminate the services of a lawyer is impressed with finality, as long as the lawyer's right to compensation earned is respected.

  • Positions that are primarily confidential in nature do not require a fixed or definite term of employment if the confidential aspect predominates.

  • The attorney-client relationship is strictly personal and cannot be delegated to another attorney without the client's consent. However, the delegation of legal work is permissible.

  • Positions in the civil service can be classified as confidential or non-confidential based on the proximity of the position in relation to the appointing authority.

  • Positions that are not separated from the position of the appointing authority by an intervening public officer are considered primarily confidential.

  • Positions that are remote from the appointing authority and are occupied by subordinates can be protected without imposing fiduciary duties inherent in the attorney-client relationship.

  • Permanent employees in the civil service are entitled to security of tenure.