The services of Cesar De Leon and Francisco Estavillo were terminated by the Minister of Justice. The Civil Service Commission ordered their reinstatement and payment of back wages. The Director of the NBI refused to comply with orders from the Secretary of Justice and Undersecretaries to reinstate them, claiming the orders were null and void. The Supreme Court ruled that the Director cannot disobey a direct order from the Secretary of Justice, as the Secretary acts as an alter ego of the President and the NBI falls under the Department of Justice. The Director, as a subordinate, is bound to obey the Secretary's directives which are presumed to be acts of the President.
The services of Cesar De Leon and Francisco Estavillo were terminated by the Minister of Justice. The Civil Service Commission ordered their reinstatement and payment of back wages. The Director of the NBI refused to comply with orders from the Secretary of Justice and Undersecretaries to reinstate them, claiming the orders were null and void. The Supreme Court ruled that the Director cannot disobey a direct order from the Secretary of Justice, as the Secretary acts as an alter ego of the President and the NBI falls under the Department of Justice. The Director, as a subordinate, is bound to obey the Secretary's directives which are presumed to be acts of the President.
The services of Cesar De Leon and Francisco Estavillo were terminated by the Minister of Justice. The Civil Service Commission ordered their reinstatement and payment of back wages. The Director of the NBI refused to comply with orders from the Secretary of Justice and Undersecretaries to reinstate them, claiming the orders were null and void. The Supreme Court ruled that the Director cannot disobey a direct order from the Secretary of Justice, as the Secretary acts as an alter ego of the President and the NBI falls under the Department of Justice. The Director, as a subordinate, is bound to obey the Secretary's directives which are presumed to be acts of the President.
The services of Cesar De Leon and Francisco Estavillo were terminated by the Minister of Justice. The Civil Service Commission ordered their reinstatement and payment of back wages. The Director of the NBI refused to comply with orders from the Secretary of Justice and Undersecretaries to reinstate them, claiming the orders were null and void. The Supreme Court ruled that the Director cannot disobey a direct order from the Secretary of Justice, as the Secretary acts as an alter ego of the President and the NBI falls under the Department of Justice. The Director, as a subordinate, is bound to obey the Secretary's directives which are presumed to be acts of the President.
Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
Download as docx, pdf, or txt
You are on page 1/ 2
DE LEON v.
CARPIO 178 SCRA 457 (1989) CRUZ, J.
FACTS: The services of Cesar De Leon and Francisco Estavillo as agents of the National Bureau of investigation (NBI) were terminated by then Minister of Justice Neptali Gonzales. Hence, De Leon and Estavillo appealed to the Review Committee, but the latter declined on the ground that there was a new constitution in place. Instead, the Review Committee referred De Leon and Estavillo to the Civil Service Commission (CSC). Upon following the referral, CSC declared that they were both terminated without due cause and ordered that they be reinstated back to their positions and be paid by the salary which they had lost. They were, however, not exempted for the administrative charges filed by the NBI. Undersecretary of Justice Eduardo Montenegro referred the order reinstating Estavillo to the respondent as Director of the National Bureau of Investigation "for his information and appropriate action." and Undersecretary of Justice Silvestre Bello III referred the order reinstating De Leon to the respondent "for appropriate action" and "immediate implementation." The reaction of the respondent was to return the said orders to the Civil Service Commission "without action," claiming that they were null and void for having been rendered without jurisdiction. The Secretary of Justice sent a memorandum to the respondent, but instead of complying, the respondent issued also a memorandum rejecting such.
ISSUE: Whether or not the Director of the NBI can disobey an explicit and direct order issued to him by the Secretary of Justice.
RULING: NO. The Supreme Court held that the Director of the NBI cannot disobey an order issued to him by the Secretary of Justice. The President’s power of control flows down to his alter egos. Thus, they could also modify, reverse, nullify or set aside acts of their subordinates, as well as to expect obedience relative to their lawful orders. The President's power of control is directly exercised by him over the members of the Cabinet who, in turn and by his authority, control the bureaus and other offices under their respective jurisdictions in the executive department. In the case at bar, there is no question that when he directed the respondent to reinstate the petitioners, Secretary Ordoñ ez was acting in the regular discharge of his functions as an alter ego of the President. His acts should therefore have been respected by the respondent Director of the National Bureau of Investigation, which is in the Department of Justice under the direct control of its Secretary. As a subordinate in this department, the respondent was (and is) bound to obey the Secretary's directives, which are presumptively the acts of the President of the Philippines. Respondent Director Carpio’s claim that the action was without jurisdiction is incorrect.
