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Soriano V Lista

This case concerns the appointments made by President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo to positions in the Philippine Coast Guard without undergoing confirmation by the Commission on Appointments. The petitioner questioned the constitutionality and legality of the appointments. The Supreme Court ruled that the petitioner did not have legal standing to file the case. Furthermore, it found that the appointments did not require confirmation because the Coast Guard had been transferred to the Department of Transportation and Communications and was no longer part of the Armed Forces, so the constitutional requirement for confirmation of appointments of officers from the rank of colonel or naval captain and above did not apply.

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26 views

Soriano V Lista

This case concerns the appointments made by President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo to positions in the Philippine Coast Guard without undergoing confirmation by the Commission on Appointments. The petitioner questioned the constitutionality and legality of the appointments. The Supreme Court ruled that the petitioner did not have legal standing to file the case. Furthermore, it found that the appointments did not require confirmation because the Coast Guard had been transferred to the Department of Transportation and Communications and was no longer part of the Armed Forces, so the constitutional requirement for confirmation of appointments of officers from the rank of colonel or naval captain and above did not apply.

Uploaded by

legallyblonde
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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ELPIDIO SORIANO III V. LISTA ET.

AL
G.R. No. 153881 March 24, 2003
CORONA, J.:
POWER OF APPOINTMENT
FACTS:
President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo appointed public respondents to different positions in the Philippine Coast
Guard (PCG). Petitioner questioned the said appointments for failure to undergo the confirmation process in the
Commission on Appointments.

The petitioner questions the constitutionality and legality, under Rule 65 of the Rules of Court, of the permanent
appointments the president made. As per the former, their assumption of office is unconstitutional due to
its lack of confirmation from the Commission on Appointments (CA). He filed the petition as a member of
the Integrated Bar of the Philippines (IBP) and as a taxpayer. Among others, the petitioner contends that the
appointees should be prohibited from discharging their duties and functions as such officers of PCG. However,
the Court finds petitioner to be without any legal personality to file the instant petition

ISSUES: Do the appointments of respondents required confirmation of the CA? No.

RULING:

The petition can be hereby dismissed at the mere fact that petitioner holds no legal standing in the case. He
has not proven he has personally suffered actual or threatened injury. It should be emphasized that a party
bringing a suit challenging the constitutionality of an act or statute must show not only that the law or act is
invalid, but also that he has sustained or is in immediate, or imminent danger of sustaining some direct injury
as a result of its enforcement and not merely that he suffers thereby in some indefinite way.

Even if he holds the legal personality, the petition nonetheless would fail. Contrary to his contentions, the CA
need not confirm the appointments made by the president.

The PCG used to be administered and maintained as a separate unit of the Philippine Navy under Section 4 of
RA 5173. It was subsequently placed under the direct supervision and control of the Secretary of the Department
of National Defense (DND) pursuant to Section 4 of PD 601. Eventually, it was integrated into the Armed Forces
of the Philippines (AFP) as a major subordinate unit of the Philippine Navy under Section 54 of Chapter 8, Sub-
title II, Title VIII, Book IV of EO 292, as amended.

However, on March 30, 1998, after the aforesaid changes in the charter of the PCG, then President Fidel V.
Ramos, in the exercise of his statutory authority to reorganize the Office of the President, issued EO 475
transferring the PCG from the DND to the Office of the President. He later on again transferred the PCG
from the Office of the President to the Department of Transportation and Communications (DOTC).

Now that the PCG is under the DOTC and no longer part of the Philippine Navy or the Armed Forces of
the Philippines, the promotions and appointments of respondent officers of the PCG, or any PCG officer from
the rank of captain and higher for that matter, do not require confirmation by the CA.

It is clear from Sec. 16, Art. VII, 1987 Constitution that only appointed officers from the rank of colonel or
naval captain in the armed forces require confirmation by the CA. The rule is that the plain, clear and
unambiguous language of the Constitution should be construed as such and should not be given
a construction that changes its meaning.
The enumeration of appointments subject to confirmation by the CA under Section 16, Article VII of the 1987
Constitution is exclusive. The clause officers of the armed forces from the rank of colonel or naval captain refers
to military officers alone. This is clear from the deliberations of the Constitutional Commission on the proposed
text of said Section 16, Article VII of the Constitution. Since the promotions and appointments of respondent
officers are not covered by the above-cited provision of the Constitution, the same need not be confirmed
by the CA.

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