SARMIENTO V. MISON, G. R. No. 79974 December 17, 1987 (CASE DIGEST)

CONSTITUTIONAL LAW I CASE DIGEST

POLITICAL LAW
POWERS OF THE EXECUTIVE

Ulpiano P. Sarmiento III and Juanito G. Arcilla v. Salvador Mison in his capacity as COMMISSIONER OF THE BUREAU OF CUSTOMS and Guillermo Carague in his capacity as SECRETARY OF THE DEPARTMENT OF BUDGET

G.R. No. 79974, December 17, 1987

Padilla, J.:

FACTS:

Respondent 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.

ISSUE:

WHETHER OR NOT the appointment made by the President without the confirmation from COA is valid.

HELD:

Yes, under the 1987 Constitution, Heads of Bureau are removed from the list of officers that needed confirmation from the Commission On Appointment. It enumerated the four (4) groups whom the President shall appoint:

• Heads of the Executive Departments, Ambassadors, other public minister or consuls, Officers of the Armed Forces from the rank of Colonel or Naval Captain, and Other officers whose appointments are vested in him in him in this Constitution;

The above-mentioned circumstance is the only instance where the appointment made by the President that requires approval from the COA and the following instances are those which does not require approval from COA:

• All other Officers of the Government whose appointments are not otherwise provided by law;
• Those whom the President may be authorized by law to appoint; and
• Officers lower in rank whose appointments the Congress may by law vest in the President alone.

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