The Supreme Court held that the Director of the NBI cannot disobey an order issued to him by the Secretary of Justice. As a subordinate in the Department of Justice, the Director is bound to obey the Secretary's directives, which are presumptively the acts of the President.
The Supreme Court held that the Director of the NBI cannot disobey an order issued to him by the Secretary of Justice. As a subordinate in the Department of Justice, the Director is bound to obey the Secretary's directives, which are presumptively the acts of the President.
The Supreme Court held that the Director of the NBI cannot disobey an order issued to him by the Secretary of Justice. As a subordinate in the Department of Justice, the Director is bound to obey the Secretary's directives, which are presumptively the acts of the President.
The Supreme Court held that the Director of the NBI cannot disobey an order issued to him by the Secretary of Justice. As a subordinate in the Department of Justice, the Director is bound to obey the Secretary's directives, which are presumptively the acts of the President.
Estavillo and de Leon are two NBI agents terminated by then Minister of Justice Neptali A. Gonzales. Upon appeal to the Review Committee, the said body declined to act on their petitions for reconsideration on the ground that it had lost its jurisdiction with the ratification of the new Constitution. They were advised instead to seek relief from the Civil Service Commission.
The Merit Systems Protection Board of CSC held that their dismissals were invalid and unconstitutional, having been done in violation of their security of tenure under the 1987 Constitution. Accordingly, the Board ordered their reinstatement.
However, respondent Carpio, as Director of NBI, returned the orders issued by the Secretary of Justice to CSC “without action,” claiming that they were null and void for having been rendered without jurisdiction.
ISSUE:
Whether or not the Director of the NBI can disobey an explicit and direct order issued to him by the Secretary of Justice
HELD:
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 expect obedience relative to their lawful orders.
It is an elementary principle of our republican government, enshrined in the Constitution and
honored not in the breach but the observance, that all executive departments, bureaus, and offices are under the control of the President of the Philippines as embodied in Article VII, Section 17 of the present Constitution. 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. The Constitutional vesture of this power in the president is self-executing and does not require statutory implementation, much less withdrawn, by the legislature. In this case, there was no question that when Secretary Ordoñez directed the respondent to reinstate the petitioners, the Secretary 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.
RATIO DECIDENDI: When a department head acts in the regular course of business and conformably to a statutory provision, the act shall be presumed to be the act of the President.
