SARMIENTO v.
MISON
G.R. No. 79974 December 17, 1987
PADILLA, J.:
FACTS:
In 1987, Salvador Mison was appointed as the Commissioner of the Bureau of Customs by then
President Corazon Aquino.
The said appointment made by the President is being questioned by petitioner Ulpiano
Sarmiento III and Juanito Arcilla who are both taxpayers, members of the bar, and both
Constitutional law professors, stating that the said appointment is not valid since the
appointment was not submitted to the Commission On Appointment (COA) for approval. Under
the Constitution, the appointments made for the "Heads of Bureau" requires the confirmation
from COA. Petitioners also seek to enjoin Guillermo Carague, then Secretary of the Department
of Budget from disbursing salary payments for Mison.
ISSUES:
1. What are the groups of officers whom the President shall appoint?
2. Whether or not confirmation of the appointments of Commissioners of the Bureau of Customs
by the Commission on Appointments is required?
RULING:
1. Under the provisions of the 1987 Constitution, just quoted, there are four (4) groups of
officers whom the President shall appoint. These four (4) groups, to which we will
hereafter refer from time to time, are:
First, the heads of the executive departments, ambassadors, other public ministers and consuls,
officers of the armed forces from the rank of colonel or naval captain, and other officers whose
appointments are vested in him in this Constitution;
Second, all other officers of the Government whose appointments are not otherwise provided for
by law;
Third, those whom the President may be authorized by law to appoint;
Fourth, officers lower in rank whose appointments the Congress may by law vest in the
President alone.
The first group of officers is clearly appointed with the consent of the Commission on
Appointments. Appointments of such officers are initiated by nomination and, if the nomination
is confirmed by the Commission on Appointments, the President appoints.
Those belonging to second, third and fourth groups may be appointed by the President without
such confirmation with COA.
2. It is evident that the position of Commissioner of the Bureau of Customs (a bureau head)
is not one of those within the first group of appointments where the consent of the
Commission on Appointments is required. As a matter of fact, as already pointed out,
while the 1935 Constitution includes "heads of bureaus" among those officers whose
appointments need the consent of the Commission on Appointments, the 1987
Constitution on the other hand, deliberately excluded the position of "heads of bureaus"
from appointments that need the consent (confirmation) of the Commission on
Appointments.
Moreover, the President is expressly authorized by law to appoint the Commissioner of
the Bureau of Customs. The original text of Sec. 601 of Republic Act No. 1937,
otherwise known as the Tariff and Customs Code of the Philippines, which was enacted
by the Congress of the Philippines on 22 June 1957, reads as follows:
601. Chief Officials of the Bureau.-The Bureau of Customs shall have one chief
and one assistant chief, to be known respectively as the Commissioner
(hereinafter known as the 'Commissioner') and Assistant Commissioner of
Customs, who shall each receive an annual compensation in accordance with
the rates prescribed by existing laws. The Assistant Commissioner of Customs
shall be appointed by the proper department head.
Consequently, we rule that the President of the Philippines acted within her
constitutional authority and power in appointing respondent Salvador Mison,
Commissioner of the Bureau of Customs, without submitting his nomination to the
Commission on Appointments for confirmation. He is thus entitled to exercise the full
authority and functions of the office and to receive all the salaries and emoluments
pertaining thereto.
