TOLEDO City Treasurer Leonardo Rivera Jr. is set to return to his post after the Civil Service Commission (CSC) ordered his immediate reinstatement, ruling that his transfer to the Bureau of Local Government Finance (BLGF) violated civil service rules.
In a decision promulgated on Oct. 8, 2025, the CSC–National Capital Region declared invalid the Department of Finance’s (DOF) extension of Rivera’s detail to the BLGF 7 and voided Department Personnel Order 082-2025, which extended his assignment until January 2026.
The Commission said the DOF’s order breached Section 13(b)(1) of the 2017 Omnibus Rules on Appointments and Other Human Resource Actions, which limits the duration of a detail without the employee’s consent to one year and prohibits its renewal.
“Clearly, the transfer of Rivera from the City Government of Toledo to the BLGF may be considered as a detail rather than a reassignment,” the CSC decision stated.
Rivera, who has served as city treasurer since 2013, was relieved from his post and detailed to the BLGF 7 effective Jan. 15, 2024. His one-year detail expired on Jan. 10, 2025.
The CSC ruling granted Rivera’s appeal against the extension order, restoring him to his original position in the Toledo City Government.
Rivera earlier alleged that his reassignment was connected to the criminal complaints he filed in 2023 against 20 members of the Bids and Awards Committee (BAC) and several suppliers for alleged violations of the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act, as well as grave abuse of authority, dishonesty, gross misconduct and gross neglect of duty.
The CSC’s ruling resolves a personnel dispute that arose amid ongoing controversies within the City Government. / EHP