SARMIENTO VS.

MISON

This is the 1st major case under the 1987 Constitution. In 1987, Salvador Mison was
appointed as the Commissioner of the Bureau of Customs by then president Corazon
Aquino. Ulpiano Sarmiento III and Juanito Arcilla, being members of the bar, taxpayers,
and professors of constitutional law questioned the appointment of Mison because it
appears that Misons appointment was not submitted to the Commission on
Appointments (COA) for approval. Sarmiento insists that uner the new Constitution,
heads of bureaus require the confirmation of the COA.

Meanwhile, Sarmiento also sought to enjoin Guillermo Carague, the then Secretary of
the Department of Budget, from disbursing the salary payments of Mison due to the
unconstitutionality of Misons appointment.

ISSUE: Whether or not the appointment of heads of bureaus needed confirmation by

the Commission on Appointment.

HELD: No. In the 1987 Constitution, the framers removed heads of bureaus as one of
those officers needing confirmation by the Commission on Appointment. Under
the 1987 Constitution, there are four (4) groups of officers whom the President shall
appoint. These four (4) groups are:
First, the heads of the executive departments, ambassadors, other public ministers and
consuls, officers of the armed forces from the rank of colonel or naval captain, and other
officers whose appointments are vested in him in this Constitution;
Second, all other officers of the Government whose appointments are not otherwise
provided for by law;
Third, those whom the President may be authorized by law to appoint;
Fourth, officers lower in rank whose appointments the Congress may by law vest in the
President alone.
The first group above are the only public officers appointed by the president which
require confirmation by the COA. The second, third, and fourth group do not require
confirmation by the COA. The position of Mison as the head of the Bureau of Customs
does not belong to the first group hence he does not need to be confirmed by the COA.