G.R. No. L-13760; July 30, 1960
Filemon Maribao, petitioner-appellant, vs. Lucio Ortiz, as Mayor of Ronda, Cebu, The Provincial Treasurer and The Provincial Auditor of Cebu, respondents-appellees.

FACTS

The petitioner, Filemon Maribao, a civil service eligible, was appointed Chief of Police of Ronda, Cebu, on December 16, 1955. The appointment was signed by Councilor Toribio Chiong, who was then acting as Municipal Mayor of Ronda by designation of the outgoing Mayor, Fortunato Villalon. This designation was made because the Vice-Mayor was absent and the first councilor, Lucio Ortiz, could not act as he had filed a certificate of candidacy for mayor in the November 1955 elections. In the 1951 elections, Councilor Lourdes V. Diama had obtained the second highest number of votes for councilor, while Toribio Chiong placed fifth. Maribao qualified, assumed office, and received his salary up to January 15, 1956. On January 16, 1956, respondent Mayor Lucio Ortiz, who had been elected and assumed office on January 1, 1956, served Executive Order No. 4 on Maribao, advising him to vacate the office on the ground that his appointment was illegal. Mayor Ortiz also appointed Honorato Villafañe as the new chief of police. Consequently, Mayor Ortiz refused to sign Maribao’s payroll for the period from January 16 to 31, 1956, and the provincial auditor and treasurer declined to pass it in audit and make payment. Maribao’s appointment was never approved by the Commissioner of Civil Service or the President, and it was withdrawn by Mayor Ortiz before these offices could act on it. Maribao filed an action to compel the approval and payment of his salary and to recover damages.

ISSUE

Whether or not the appointment of Filemon Maribao as Chief of Police by Councilor Toribio Chiong, acting as Mayor, was valid and legal.

RULING

No. The Supreme Court affirmed the dismissal of the petition, holding that Maribao’s appointment was illegal and void. The Court ruled that the designation of Councilor Toribio Chiong as Acting Mayor was not in accordance with Section 2195 of the Revised Administrative Code. This law provided that in the absence of the mayor, his duties shall be discharged by the vice-mayor, or if there is no vice-mayor, by the councilor who received the highest number of votes at the last general election. At the time, the councilor who had received the second highest number of votes in the 1951 election (the first councilor, Lucio Ortiz, having resigned to run for mayor) was Lourdes V. Diama, not Toribio Chiong. Therefore, Chiong’s designation as acting mayor was illegal, and he was not a de jure officer. Consequently, he had no authority to make a valid appointment. The Court further noted that Maribao’s appointment lacked the required approvals from the Commissioner of Civil Service and the President, and it had been properly withdrawn. The appointment of Honorato Villafañe as chief of police was subsequently approved.