Bayombong, Nueva Vizcaya—Before a five-year court battle between the provincial government and 49 dismissed provincial employees was ended by a Supreme Court order to execute its decision favoring the former, a win-win solution would likely render the decision overtaken by events.
A copy of the high court decision was shown to the media on Monday.
Based on a notice of resolution released by the central office of the Civil Service Commission, the high court upheld the dismissal of employees hired by then-governor Luisa L. Cuaresma few months before the May 2013 elections.
“Now that the Supreme Court has ruled that the dismissal order has valid grounds contrary to the earlier decision of Civil Service Commission-Regional Office 02, we feel vindicated,” incumbent Gov. Carlos M. Padilla said.
“Political retribution was never the intention in the first place. It is a fact that most of the affected employees remained connected with the provincial government under my watch,” Padilla added.
After quoting some statements from the court ruling, Padilla said: “We have been doing everything we can to correct a wrong-doing which resulted in the promotion of employees without the backing of a legitimate provincial budget to pay for their salaries.”
Since he took over,Padilla managed to hire back many of the affected employees, and some even got higher positions.
As part of the win-win solution, the Provincial Human Resources Management Office revealed that only 24 affected employees who opted to stay were put on a temporary casual status, but they are enjoying the same salary commensurate to their positions prior to the dismissal order.
“What has happened is a proof that we are not going after some people because of their allegiance to politicians. EO No. 3 is just asserting what is lawful,” Padilla said.
During her term from 2013 to 2016, then-governor Ruth Padilla, wife of the current governor, issued Executive Order No. 3, which nullified the hiring of 177 employees by Cuaresma (who was governor from 2010 to 2013) before the May 2013 elections.
Padilla defeated Cuaresma in 2013, and as the incumbent governor, the absence of a duly approved budget to pay for the salaries of promoted employees greeted Padilla’s administration.
EO No. 3 came after a local court nullified Provincial Appropriations Act 2012-01, which was used as the basis of a reenacted budget for 2013 – the source of fund necessary to pay the salaries of the people occupying the positions filled up.
On May 30, 2013, the Regional Trial Court which heard the controversial 2012 provincial government budget ruled that “Provincial Appropriations Act 2012-01-A” is the legitimate budget.
When Carlos Padilla took over as governor in July 2016, he encouraged those affected employees to slide back to their former positions if these are still vacant. On October 1, 2016, 49 employees were reinstated by a Return to Work Order.
Since the case started, about 30 affected employees have left the provincial government either by resignation, retirement or death.
There is another pending case before the Supreme Court involving 11 individuals (GR No. 228387) but the high court has ruled on the fate of some 43 individuals when it granted the motion for execution of its decision upholding the employee’s dismissal in another case, docketed GR No. 228185.
Some 13 employees have filed an appeal before the Court of Appeals after the CSC invalidated their appointments. Another five affected persons opted not to appeal their dismissal.