SARMIENTO VS MISON

Sarmiento v Mison (Constitutional Law)

Sarmiento III v Mison
GR No. 79974 December 17, 1987

Section 16. The President shall nominate and, with the consent of the Commission on
Appointments, appoint the heads of the executive departments, ambassadors, other public
ministers and consuls, or 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. He shall also appoint all
other officers of the Government whose appointments are not otherwise provided for by law, and
those whom he may be authorized by law to appoint. The Congress may, by law, vest the
appointment of other officers lower in rank in the President alone, in the courts, or in the heads of
departments, agencies, commissions, or boards.cralaw
The President shall have the power to make appointments during the recess of the Congress,
whether voluntary or compulsory, but such appointments shall be effective only until disapproved
by the Commission on Appointments or until the next adjournment of the Congress.
PADILLA, J:

FACTS:
(1) Petitioners contend that Mison's appointment as Commissioner of the Bureau of Customs is unconstitutional by
reason of its not having been confirmed by the Commission on Appointments. The respondents, on the other hand,
maintain the constitutionality of respondent Mison's appointment without the confirmation of the Commission on
Appointments.
(2) There are four (4) groups of officers whom the President shall appoint.

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 4 whose appointments the Congress may by law vest in the President alone.

The first group of officers is clearly appointed with the consent of the Commission on Appointments.
The second, third and fourth groups of officers are the present bone of contention.

ISSUE:
Whether or not the President can appoint Mison without submitting his nomination to the Commission on
Appointments

HELD:
Petition dismissed. President of the Philippines acted within her constitutional authority and power in appointing
respondent Salvador Mison, Commissioner of the Bureau of Customs, without submitting his nomination to the
Commission on Appointments for confirmation. He is thus entitled to exercise the full authority and functions of the
office and to receive all the salaries and emoluments pertaining thereto.

In sum:

1. Confirmation by the Commission on Appointments is required only for presidential appointees mentioned in the
first sentence of Section 16, Article VII, including, those officers whose appointments are expressly vested by the
Constitution itself in the president (like sectoral representatives to Congress and members of the constitutional
commissions of Audit, Civil Service and Election).
2. Confirmation is not required when the President appoints other government officers whose appointments are not
otherwise provided for by law or those officers whom he may be authorized by law to appoint (like the Chairman
and Members of the Commission on Human Rights). Also, as observed in Mison, when Congress creates inferior
offices but omits to provide for appointment thereto, or provides in an unconstitutional manner for such
appointments, the officers are considered as among those whose appointments are not otherwise provided for by
law.

RATIO:

(1) By following the accepted rule in constitutional and statutory construction that an express enumeration of
subjects excludes others not enumerated, it would follow that only those appointments to positions expressly stated
in the first group require the consent (confirmation) of the Commission on Appointments.
(2) It is evident that the position of Commissioner of the Bureau of Customs (a bureau head) is not one of those within
the first group of appointments where the consent of the Commission on Appointments is required. As a matter of
fact, as already pointed out, while the 1935 Constitution includes "heads of bureaus" among those officers whose
appointments need the consent of the Commission on Appointments, the 1987 Constitution, on the other hand,
deliberately excluded the position of "heads of bureaus" from appointments that need the consent (confirmation) of
the Commission on Appointments.

(3) In the 1987 Constitution, however, as already pointed out, the clear and expressed intent of its framers was to
exclude presidential appointments from confirmation by the Commission on Appointments, except appointments to
offices expressly mentioned in the first sentence of Sec. 16, Art. VII. Consequently, there was no reason to use in the
third sentence of Sec. 16, Article VII the word "alone" after the word "President" in providing that Congress may by
law vest the appointment of lower-ranked officers in the President alone, or in the courts, or in the heads of
departments, because the power to appoint officers whom he (the president) may be authorized by law to appoint is
already vested in the President, without need of confirmation by the Commission on Appointments, in the second
sentence of the same Sec. 16, Article VII.

2nd Digest

FACTS:
Mison was appointed as the Commissioner of the Bureau of Customs and Carague as the Secretary of
the Department of Budget, without the confirmation of the Commission on Appointments. Sarmiento
assailed the appointments as unconstitutional by reason of its not having been confirmed by CoA.

ISSUE:
Whether or not the appointment is valid.

RULING:
Yes. The President acted within her constitutional authority and power in appointing Salvador Mison,
without submitting his nomination to the CoA for confirmation. He is thus entitled to exercise the full
authority and functions of the office and to receive all the salaries and emoluments pertaining thereto.

Under Sec 16 Art. VII of the 1987 Constitution, there are 4 groups of officers whom the President shall
appoint:
1st, appointment of executive departments and bureaus heads, ambassadors, other public ministers,
consuls, officers of the armed forces from the rank of colonel or naval captain, and other officers with the
consent and confirmation of the CoA.
2nd, all other Government officers whose appointments are not otherwise provided by law;
3rd those whom the President may be authorized by the law to appoint;
4th, low-ranking officers whose appointments the Congress may by law vest in the President alone.
First group of officers is clearly appointed with the consent of the Commission on Appointments.
Appointments of such officers are initiated by nomination and, if the nomination is confirmed by the
Commission on Appointments, the President appoints.

2nd, 3rd and 4th group of officers are the present bone of contention. By following the accepted rule in
constitutional and statutory construction that an express enumeration of subjects excludes others not
enumerated, it would follow that only those appointments to positions expressly stated in the first group
require the consent (confirmation) of the Commission on Appointments.

It is evident that the position of Commissioner of the Bureau of Customs (a bureau head) is not one of those within
the first group of appointments where the consent of the Commission on Appointments is required. The 1987
Constitution deliberately excluded the position of "heads of bureaus" from appointments that need the consent
(confirmation) of the Commission on Appointments.

3rd Digest

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.