Reassignment, transfer or detail; when equivalent to constructive dismissal - G.R. No. 178021

G.R. No. 178021

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While a temporary transfer or assignment of personnel is permissible even without the employee's prior consent, it cannot be done when the transfer is a preliminary step toward his removal, or a scheme to lure him away from his permanent position, or when it is designed to indirectly terminate his service, or force his resignation. Such a transfer would in effect circumvent the provision which safeguards the tenure of office of those who are in the Civil Service.[19]



Significantly, Section 6, Rule III of CSC Memorandum Circular No. 40, series of 1998, defines constructive dismissal as a situation when an employee quits his work because of the agency head’s unreasonable, humiliating, or demeaning actuations which render continued work impossible. Hence, the employee is deemed to have been illegally dismissed. This may occur although there is no diminution or reduction of salary of the employee. It may be a transfer from one position of dignity to a more servile or menial job.



The CSC, through the OSG, contends that the deliberate refusal of Pacheo to report for work either in her original station in Quezon City or her new place of assignment in San Fernando, Pampanga negates her claim of constructive dismissal in the present case being in violation of Section 24 (f) of P.D. 807 [now Executive Order (EO) 292, Book V, Title 1, Subtitle A, Chapter 5, Section 26 (6)].[20] It further argues that the subject RTAO was immediately executory, unless otherwise ordered by the CSC. It was, therefore, incumbent on Pacheo to have reported to her new place of assignment and then appealed her case to the CSC if she indeed believed that there was no justification for her reassignment.





Anent the first argument of CSC, the Court cannot sustain the proposition. It was legally impossible for Pacheo to report to her original place of assignment in Quezon City considering that the subject RTAO No. 25-2002 also reassigned Amado Rey B. Pagarigan (Pagarigan) as Assistant Chief, Legal Division, from RR4, San Fernando, Pampanga to RR7, Quezon City, the very same position Pacheo formerly held. The reassignment of Pagarigan to the same position palpably created an impediment to Pacheo’s return to her original station.



The Court finds Itself unable to agree to CSC’s argument that the subject RTAO was immediately executory. The Court deems it necessary to distinguish between a detail and reassignment, as they are governed by different rules.



A detail is defined and governed by Executive Order 292, Book V, Title 1, Subtitle A, Chapter 5, Section 26 (6), thus:

(6) Detail. A detail is the movement of an employee from one agency to another without the issuance of an appointment and shall be allowed, only for a limited period in the case of employees occupying professional, technical and scientific positions. If the employee believes that there is no justification for the detail, he may appeal his case to the Commission. Pending appeal, the decision to detail the employee shall be executory unless otherwise ordered by the Commission. [Underscoring supplied]



On the other hand, a reassignment is defined and governed by E.O. 292, Book V, Title 1, Subtitle A, Chapter 5, Section 26 (7), thus:

(7) Reassignment.—An employee may be reassigned from one organizational unit to another in the same agency; Provided, That such reassignment shall not involve a reduction in rank, status or salaries. [Underscoring supplied]







The principal distinctions between a detail and reassignment lie in the place where the employee is to be moved and in its effectivity pending appeal with the CSC. Based on the definition, a detail requires a movement from one agency to another while a reassignment requires a movement within the same agency. Moreover, pending appeal with the CSC, an order to detail is immediately executory, whereas a reassignment order does not become immediately effective.



In the case at bench, the lateral movement of Pacheo as Assistant Chief, Legal Division from Quezon City to San Fernando, Pampanga within the same agency is undeniably a reassignment. The OSG posits that she should have first reported to her new place of assignment and then subsequently question her reassignment. It is clear, however, from E.O. 292, Book V, Title 1, Subtitle A, Chapter 5, Section 26 (7) that there is no such duty to first report to the new place of assignment prior to questioning an alleged invalid reassignment imposed upon an employee. Pacheo was well within her right not to report immediately to RR4, San Fernando, Pampanga, and to question her reassignment.



Reassignments involving a reduction in rank, status or salary violate an employee’s security of tenure, which is assured by the Constitution, the Administrative Code of 1987, and the Omnibus Civil Service Rules and Regulations. Security of tenure covers not only employees removed without cause, but also cases of unconsented transfers and reassignments, which are tantamount to illegal/constructive removal.[21]



The Court is not unaware that the BIR is authorized to assign or reassign internal revenue officers and employees as the exigencies of service may require. This authority of the BIR, however, should be prudently exercised in accordance with existing civil service rules.



Having ruled that Pacheo was constructively dismissed, is she entitled to reinstatement and back wages? The Court agrees with the CA that she is entitled to reinstatement, but finds Itself unable to sustain the ruling that she is entitled to full back wages and benefits. It is a settled jurisprudence[22] that an illegally dismissed civil service employee is entitled to back salaries but limited only to a maximum period of five (5) years, and not full back salaries from his illegal dismissal up to his reinstatement.

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