Subject: Administrative Law

Topic: Security of Tenure in a Public Office – Power to Create and

Destroy Public Office

Title: Buklod ng Kawaning EIIB vs Executive Secretary Ronaldo Zamora

Citation: 360 SCRA 718

Facts:

During the time of President Corazon Aquino, she created the Economic
Intelligence and Investigation Bureau (EIIB) to primarily conduct anti-
smuggling operations in areas outside the jurisdiction of the Bureau of
Customs. In the year 2000, President Estrada issued an order
deactivating the EIIB. He subsequently ordered the employees of EIIB to
be separated from the service. Thereafter, he created the Presidential
Anti-Smuggling Task Force “Aduana”, which EIIB employees claim to be
essentially the same as EIIB. The employees of EIIB, through the Buklod
ng Kawaning EIIB, invoked the Supreme Court’s power of judicial
review in questioning the said orders. EIIB employees maintained that
the president has no power to abolish a public office, as that is a power
solely lodged in the legislature; and that the abolition violates their
constitutional right to security of tenure.
Issue:

Whether or not the petition has merit.

Ruling:
No. It is a general rule that the power to abolish a public office is lodged
with the legislature. The exception is when it comes to agencies,
bureaus, and other offices under the executive department, the
president may deactivate them pursuant to control power over such
offices, unless such office is created by the Constitution. This is also
germane to the president’s power to reorganize the Office of the
President. Basis of such power also has its roots in two laws i.e., PD
1772 and PD 1416. These decrees expressly grant the President of the
Philippines the continuing authority to reorganize the national
government, which includes the power to group, consolidate bureaus
and agencies, to abolish offices, to transfer functions, to create and
classify functions, services and activities and to standardize salaries and
materials.
Also, it cannot be said that there is bad faith in the abolition of EIIB. EIIB
allocations has always exceeded P100 million per year. To save the
government some money, it needed to abolish it and replace it with TF
Aduana which has for its allocation just P50 million. Further, TYF
Aduana is invested more power that EIIB never had, i.e., search and
seizure and arrest.
Lastly, EEIB employees’ right to security of tenure is not violated. Since
there is no bad faith in the abolition of EIIB, such abolition is not infirm.
Valid abolition of offices is neither removal nor separation of the
incumbents. If the public office ceases to exist, there is no separation or
dismissal to speak of. Indeed, there is no such thing as an absolute right
to hold office. Except constitutional offices which provide for special
immunity as regards salary and tenure, no one can be said to have any
vested right in an office or its salary.