CITY OF SAN FERNANDO – The Court of Appeals (CA) has affirmed an earlier decision favoring the appointment of Dr. Eddie Ponio as head of Pampanga’s provincial hospital.
In a decision signed on February 16 obtained on Wednesday, the CA 10th Division said “the instant Petition for Review is denied and Civil Service Commission (CSC) Resolution No. 09-0819 dated June 2, 2009 and CSC Resolution No. 09-1555 dated Nov. 19, 2009 are hereby affirmed.”
“Wherefore, the appeal of Dr. Eddie G. Ponio, provincial health officer I, Diosdado P. Macapagal Memorial Hospital (DMMH) is hereby granted.
Accordingly, Memorandum No. 37 dated June 28, 2008 and Memorandum No. 55 dated September 22, 2008 issued by Eddie T. Panlilio, [former] governor, Province of Pampanga, reassigning him to the Ricardo P. Rodriguez Memorial Hospital and subsequently recalling him to report to the Provincial Health Office (PHO) at San Fernando, Pampanga, respectively, is hereby Reversed and Set Aside,” said the CA decision signed by Associate Justices Jose Reyes, Priscilla Padilla and Agnes Carpio.
“Governor Panlilio is directed to restore Ponio to his original station as Provincial Health Officer I at Diosdado P. Macapagal Memorial Hospital,” it said.
PANLILIO’S ORDERS
In May 2008, then Governor Panlilio issued a memorandum order temporarily assigning Dr. Romulo Lacson as acting chief of the DMMH effective June 3, 2008 and requested Ponio to report to the PHO. Ponio appealed before the CSC and contested Panlilio’s order.
While the case was pending before the CSC, Panlilio issued another Memorandum Order No. 73 designating Ponio as acting chief of the Ricardo P. Rodriguez Memorial Hospital effective June 24, 2008 to September 23, 2008.
Ponio then filed before the CSC an urgent motion to issue restraining order relative to his re-assignment as contained in memorandum 37.
Pending the resolution of the urgent motion filed by Ponio, Panlilio issued Memorandum No. 55 dated September 22, 2008 recalling Ponio and directing him to report to the PHO as PHO-1 hospital administrator.
The CSC favored Ponio in its subsequent decisions.
CIVIL SERVICE RULES
In the decision, the CA cited Section 10, Rule VII of the Omnibus Civil Service Rules and Regulations. It stated that “a reassignment is the movement of an employee from one until to another in the same department or agency which does not involve a reduction in rank, status or salaries and does not require the issuance of an appointment.”
“While concededly the law (specifically the Revised Administrative Code) recognizes reassignment as a management prerogative vested in any department or agency of government embraced in the civil service, it is however subject to certain rules,” the CA decision said.
“Thus, Section 6 (3) of the Revised Rules on Reassignment under Civil Service Commission Resolution No. 04-1458 provides: Reassignment of employees with station-specific place of work indicated in their respective appointments shall be allowed only for a maximum period of one (1) year,” it added.
“An appointment is considered station-specific when the particular office or station where the position is located is specifically indicated on the face of the appointment paper.
Station-specific appointment does not refer to a specified plantilla item number since it is used for purposes of identifying the particular position to be filled or occupied by the employee,” it said.
“Indeed, an appointment is considered station-specific when the particular office or station where the position is located is specifically indicated on the face of the letter of appointment,” it said.
