de Castro v. Carlos

EMMANUEL DE CASTRO v.
EMERSON CARLOS
GR No. 194994, 16 April 2013, EN BANC (SERENO, CJ)
FACTS.
Petitioner De Castro filed a petition for the issuance of a writ of quo warranto seeking to oust Respondent
Carlos from the position of assistant general manager for operations (AGMO) of the MMDA.
Then president Gloria Macapagal Arroyo appointed De Castro as AGMO. His appointment was then concurred by the
members of the MMDA through a resolution and he took oath before then Chairperson Bayani Fernando. Meanwhile,
a memorandum was issued by the Office of the President which states that:
“2. All non-Career Executive Service Officials (non-CESO) occupying Career Executive Service (CES)
positions in all agencies of the executive branch shall remain in office and continue to perform their
duties and discharge their responsibility until October 31, 2010 or until their resignations have been
accepted and/or until their respective replacements have been appointed or designated, whichever
comes first, unless they are reappointed in the meantime.”
After a year, De Castro was reassigned to the Legal and Legislative Affairs Office. Subsequently, Chairperson Francis
Tolentino designated Carlos as OIC of the Office of AGMO based on the aforementioned Memorandum. Thereafter,
De Castro’s name was stricken off the MMDA payroll. De Castro then sought clarification from the Career Executive
Service Board (CESB) as to the proper classification of the AGMO position. Executive Director Allones stated that
said position had not yet been classified and could not be considered as belonging to the Career Executive Service
(CES). She further stated that a perusal of the appointment papers of petitioner showed that he was not holding a
coterminous position. In sum, she said, he was not covered by OP Memorandum Circular.
Petitioner was then offered a different position as a MMDA consultant which he turned down, claiming that it was a
demotion in rank. He then demanded payment of his salary and reinstatement. Upon failure to obtain response from
MMDA, he made a formal demand of reinstatement addressed to the Office of the President. However, President
Aquino appointed Carlos as the new AGMO. Hence this petition.
ISSUE. WON a direct recourse to the Supreme Court is proper.
HELD.
NO. Petitioner submits that a direct recourse to this Court is warranted by the urgent demands of public
interest, particularly the veritable need for stability in the civil service and the protection of the rights of civil servants.
Moreover, considering that no other than the President of the Philippines is the appointing authority, petitioner doubts
if a trial court judge or an appellate court justice, with a prospect of promotion in the judiciary would be willing to go
against a presidential appointment.
Although Section 5(1) of Article VIII of the 1987 Constitution explicitly provides that the Supreme Court has
original jurisdiction over petitions for certiorari, prohibition, mandamus, quo warranto, and habeas corpus,
the jurisdiction of this Court is not exclusive but is concurrent with that of the Court of Appeals and regional
trial court and does not give petitioner unrestricted freedom of choice of court forum. The hierarchy of courts
must be strictly observed.
Settled is the rule that "the Supreme Court is a court of last resort and must so remain if it is to satisfactorily
perform the functions assigned to it by the fundamental charter and immemorial tradition." A disregard of
the doctrine of hierarchy of courts warrants, as a rule, the outright dismissal of a petition.
A direct invocation of this Court’s jurisdiction is allowed only when there are special and important reasons that are
clearly and specifically set forth in a petition. The rationale behind this policy arises from the necessity of preventing (1)
inordinate demands upon the time and attention of the Court, which is better devoted to those matters within its
exclusive jurisdiction; and (2) further overcrowding of the Court’s docket.
In this case, petitioner justified his act of directly filing with this Court only when he filed his Reply and after
respondent had already raised the procedural infirmity that may cause the outright dismissal of the present Petition.
Petitioner likewise cites stability in the civil service and protection of the rights of civil servants as rationale for
disregarding the hierarchy of courts.
Petitioner’s excuses are not special and important circumstances that would allow a direct recourse to this Court. More
so, mere speculation and doubt to the exercise of judicial discretion of the lower courts are not and cannot be valid
justifications to hurdle the hierarchy of courts. Thus, the Petition must be dismissed.
Even assuming that petitioner’s direct resort to this Court is permissible, the Petition must still be dismissed for lack of
merit.

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EMMANUEL DE CASTRO v.

ISSUE. WON a direct recourse to the Supreme Court is proper.

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