SC approves reinstatement of sacked Caap official

THE Supreme Court (SC) has affirmed the decision of the Civil Service Commission (CSC) and the Court of Appeals (CA) regarding the long-sought reinstatement of Daniel Dimagiba as the deputy director-general for operations of the Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines (Caap).

Based on the resolution of the SC Second Division, the justices have decided to dismiss the appeal filed by the Caap over the directive to have Dimagiba reinstated both by the CSC and the CA.

“After a perusal of the records, the Court resolves to deny the instant petition for failure to show any reversible error on the part of the CA in ruling that the Director General of petitioner Caap does not possess the disciplinary authority over respondent Deputy Director General for Operations Daniel A. Dimagiba,” noted the three-page order dated September 5.

The order now puts in question President Benigno Aquino III’s appointment of Napoleon Garcia as Dimagiba’s replacement.

Dimagiba was an appointee of then President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo.

He was sacked by Director General Ruben Ciron over alleged acts of grave misconduct, including the issuance of an Air Carrier Operating Certificate (ACOC) to Sky Aviation Services Inc. (Sasi) on August 1, 2008.

He was accused of committing eight counts of grave misconduct, as well as for collecting $1,500 per foreign student before signing certificates.

Dimagiba questioned his removal before the CSC, which ruled that he was illegally dismissed and ordered his reinstatement. This was supported by the CA through its ruling on February 22, 2011.

In the CA’s Former Special 16th Division ruling, Caap was ordered to immediately reinstate Dimagiba as deputy director general of the agency and “to pay him full back wages and benefits as required in Civil Service Commission Resolution 100749 dated April 12, 2010 and affirmed by the court’s February 22, 2011 decision, computed from the date of his dismissal until his actual reinstatement”.

The Caap Board of Directors (Caap Board) did not give up and eventually brought the case before the High Court.

According to the Court, while it is true that there is a principle that the “power to appoint includes the power to remove except in certain instances which do not obtain here.”

“Section 10 of the Implementing Rules and Regulations of Republic Act No. 9497 (Civil Aviation Authority Act of 2008) specifically exempted the two deputy directors general of Caap from the Director General's appointing authority and made their appointments subject to the approval of the CAAP Board,” the decision stated.

Echoing the CA, the High Court said “the subsequent appointment of another person to his position is not supposed to prejudice his security of tenure in the said position”. (HDT/Sunnex)