Salvador vs.

CA
331 SCRA 438
#6

Badongen, Raymon
Quezon, Chase
Salvador vs. Ca

331 SCRA 438

Petitioner: Conrado Salvador

Respondent: CA et al.

FACTS

Conrado Salvador (petitioner) has been employed as a Forestry Supervisor II for 8 years in DENR.
Sometime in 1987, DENR was reorganized and the petitioner was constrained to accept the lower
position of Senior Executive Assistant I, a coterminous employment, with a term not to exceed 3 years.
Later on, he was promoted as Forester III however this position is still lower in rank compared
to Forestry Supervisor which he previously held. In January 1992, he received a letter from the Director of
DENR stating that he was deemed terminated his position being a coterminous one. Salvador, joined his
other co-employees who were illegally dismissed as well through a complaint-in- intervention. Decision
was rendered in favour of the complainants, including Salvador. This decision (GR 103121) became final
and executory. Civil Service Commission instructed DENR to appoint the illegally dismissed employees
but DENR did not heed CSC’s instructions. 3 years after, Salvador filed a petition to hold the directors of
DENR in contempt for wilfully failing to comply the execution of judgement.

The petitioner had been a permanent employee of the Department of Environment and Natural
Resources (DENR) since 1964. Sometime in 1987, reorganization of the DENR under Executive Order
No. 192, dated June 10, 1987, commenced. This resulted in the conversion of the positions of several
DENR employees to coterminous, with their term of office ending December 31, 1991. With such threat of
termination, several of petitioner's co-employees filed on December 19, 1991 a Petition for Prohibition
and Mandmus with a prayer for the issuance of a writ of preliminary injunction and/or restraining order, to
stop the respondents from removing them from their positions in the DEN and to stop the DENR from
terminating their services. Their case, entitled "Blaquera versus Civil Service Commission," was docketed
as G.R. No. 103121.

Meanwhile, during the reorganization of the DENR, petitioner, who prior to said reorganization had held
the position of Forestry Supervisor II for almost eight (8) years, was constrained to accept reappointment
on September 16, 1988 as Senior Executive Assistant I, R-66/SG-17, a coterminous position with a term
not to exceed three (3) years. However, petitioner filed a protest with respondent Civil Service
Commission. He was later "promoted", effective February 14, 1992, to the position of Forester III, SG-18,
a position still lower in rank and salary than that of Forestry Supervisor II, which he previously held.

ISSUE

1. Whether or not Salvador’s acceptance of a coterminous position excludes him within the scope of the
decision which attained finality?

2. Whether or not the respondents could be held in contempt?

HELD

1. NO. The high tribunal ruled in favour of Salvador. Although the DENR Memorandum states that among
those people to be excluded from the Decision are those who accepted coterminous appointments, the
SC held that Salvador’s acceptance of the coterminous appointment was brought about by necessity.
“Petitioner’s application for and acceptance of a lower position in DENR, under the circumstances, was
the practical and responsible thing to do, and cannot be construed against him such as to foreclose his
right to question the legality of his termination and to claim the position he held previous to the
organization” SC ordered the DENR officials to reinstate Salvador.

2. NO. “Notwithstanding respondent’s non-compliance with the decision in GR103121 and Civil Service
Commission resolution no. 946623, this court believes that the same does not constitute a indirect
contempt of court. Disobedience of or resistance to a judgement of a court, to be punishable as contempt
must be willful. In this case, this court finds that public respondent Secretary of the DENR acted in good
faith. True, respondent Secretary committed error in judgement, but that per se cannot be considered
contumacious.