Eusebio Vs CSC

G.R. No.
223623
ROBERTO C. EUSEBIO, PETITIONER, VS. CIVIL SERVICE COMMISSION, RESPONDENT
G.R. NO. 223644
CIVIL SERVICE COMMISSION, PETITIONER, VS. ROBERTO C. EUSEBIO, RESPONDENT
Facts of the Case
On February 1, 2008, then Pasig City Mayor Eusebio appointed retired career diplomat Rosalina V.
Tirona as President of the Pamantasan ng Lungsod ng Pasig (PLP) for a four (4)-year term or until
January 31, 2012. The CSC approved Tirona's appointment.
Upon his re-election, on June 7, 2010, Eusebio issued a memorandum urging all Pasig City chiefs of
office, including Tirona, to tender their courtesy resignations. Tirona did not heed the call and wrote
Eusebio why she will not resign. Eusebio terminated Tirona's appointment as PLP President and
declared the position vacant. He cited as reason Tirona's having reached the compulsory retirement age
of seventy (70). Aggrieved, Tirona questioned her termination before the CSC
By Decision dated September 23, 2010, the CSC ruled that Tirona was illegally dismissed and, thus, the
termination was REVERSED and SET ASIDE and Tirona should be reinstated into the service. However,
Eusebio did not comply with the CSC's directive for Tirona's reinstatement which consequently resulted to
the CSC action of motu proprio charged against Eusebio with indirect contempt and imposed on him a
fine of P416,000.00 relative of Section 2 of CSC Revised Rules on Contempt, the fine of P1,000 was re-
computed to start from December 13, 2010 to January 31, 2012.
In his Answer, Eusebio reasoned that his failure to reinstate Tirona was not contumacious since he did
not act in bad faith; his timely appeal from the CSC's dispositions purportedly stayed the finality of the
order of reinstatement. At any rate, Tirona never filed any motion to implement her reinstatement.
Eusebio paid the P416,000.00 fine imposed by the CSC
As to the Court of Appeals Ruling, under its assailed Decision dated July 21, 2015 the Court of Appeals
affirmed with modification that the amount of the fine is reduced to P30,000.00. No cost.
In this case, the imposition of a fine of P1,000.00 a day against [Eusebio] was not sanctioned by the
enabling law itself but only by the administrative rule implementing the same. Moreover, the enormity of
the amount of the fine imposed by the public respondent against the petitioner is confiscatory and
unreasonable. Such rules and regulations should be within the scope of the legislative authority granted
by the legislature and, whether required by statute or judicial decisions, their rules and regulations, to be
valid must be reasonable.
The Present Petition - assails the Court of Appeals' dispositions insofar as they reduced the fine imposed
by the CSC on Eusebio. The OSG invokes, first, Section 6, Article IX-A of the 1987 Constitution
authorizing the CSC to promulgate its own rules concerning pleadings and practice before its offices,
Issue:
did the Court of Appeals err in reducing the fine imposed on Eusebio for indirect contempt?
Ruling:
Yes. The petition is impressed with merit. Under Section 6, Article IX-A of the 1987 Constitution, the
CSC en banc may promulgate its own rules concerning pleadings and practice before any of its offices so
long as such rules do not diminish, increase, or modify substantive rights.
The existence of the CSC's Revised Rules on Contempt, therefore, calls for the application of its own
procedure and penalties, thus, precluding Section 7, Rule 7 of the Rules of Court (P30,000.00, the
maximum amount imposable under Section 7, Rule 71 of the Rules of Court) from coming into play at first
instance. This is not an expansion of the CSC's authority to punish for contempt under EO 292 but the
Court's deference to the CSC to wield such power.
In accordance, therefore, with Section 4 of the CSC Revised Rules on Contempt, the CSC imposed a fine
of P1,000.00 per day or a total of P416,000.00 on Eusebio for his contumacious defiance of the CSC's
directive to reinstate Tirona to her post as PLP President.
What manifestly appears on record was Eusebio's obstinate refusal to implement the immediately
executory CSC rulings for over four hundred sixteen (416) days. In fact, even on appeal, Eusebio
continued to defy the CSC 's order of reinstatement despite the appellate court's non-issuance of an
injunctive writ against its implementation. Contrary to his claim of good faith, he willingly chose to suffer
under pain of contempt than reinstate Tirona. This cannot be countenanced. Neither should the penalty
imposed by the CSC be reduced unnecessarily lest we trade the rule of law for a mere pittance.
Thus, the CSC did not act arbitrarily when it prescribed a fine of P1,000.00 per day as penalty for
Eusebio's repeated defiance of the final and executory judgment of the CSC. The penalty is reasonable
and fair in relation to the purpose of preserving the CSC's Constitutional mandate as the central
personnel agency of the Philippine government tasked with rendering final arbitration on disputes
regarding personnel actions in the civil service and implementing civil service rules and regulations.
ACCORDINGLY, The fine imposed by the Civil Service Commission on Roberto C. Eusebio of P1,000.00
per day for four hundred sixteen (416) days, or a total of P416,000.00 is REINSTATED.

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G.R. No.

ROBERTO C. EUSEBIO, PETITIONER, VS. CIVIL SERVICE COMMISSION, RESPONDENT

G.R. NO. 223644

CIVIL SERVICE COMMISSION, PETITIONER, VS. ROBERTO C. EUSEBIO, RESPONDENT

Facts of the Case

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