Civil Liberties Union V Executive Secretary Case Digest

 

 Ex Officio Officials –  EO  EO 284  284 

On 25 July 1987, Cory Cor y issued EO 284 allows members of the Cabinet, their undersecretaries and assistant secretaries to hold other government offices or positions in addition to their primary  positions subject to limitations set set therein. The CLU excepted this EO averring that such law is unconstitutional for it violates Sec 13, Art 7 of the 1987 Constitution. The constitutionality of EO 284 is being challenged by CLU on the principal submission that it adds exceptions to Sec 13, Art 7 other than those provided in the Constitution; CLU avers that b by y virtue of the phrase "unless otherwise provided in this Constitution," the only exceptions against holding any other office or employment in Government are those provided provide d in the Constitution, namely: (i) The Vice-President may be appointed as a Member of the Cabinet under Sec 3, par. (2), Article 7; and (ii) the Secretary of Justice is an ex-officio ex -officio member of the Judicial and Bar Council b by y virtue of Sec 8 (1), Article 8.

ISSUE: Whether or not EO 284 is constitutional.

HELD: Sec 13, Art 7 provides:

"Sec. 13. The President, Vice-President, the Members of the Cabinet, and their deputies or assistants shall not, unless otherwise provided in this Constitution, hold any other office or employment during their tenure. They shall not, no t, during said tenure, directly or indirectly practice any other profession, participate in any business, or be financially interested in any contract with, or in any franchise, or special privilege granted by the Government or any subdivision, agency, or instrumentality thereof, including government-owned or controlled corporations or their subsidiaries. They shall strictly avoid conflict of interest in the conduct of their office."

It is clear that the 1987 Constitution seeks to prohibit the President, Vice-President, members of the Cabinet, their deputies or assistants from holding during their tenure multiple mu ltiple offices or employment in the government, except ex cept in those cases specified in the Constitution itself and as above clarified with respect to posts held without additional ad ditional compensation in an ex-officio capacity as provided by law and as required by the primary functions of their office, the citation of Cabinet members (then called Ministers) as examples during the debate and deliberation on the general rule laid down for all appointive officials should be considered as mere personal opinions which cannot override the constitution's manifest intent and the people's understanding

 

thereof. In the light of the construction given to Sec 13, Art 7 in relation to Sec 7, par. (2), Art IX-B of the 1987 Constitution, EO 284 is unconstitutional. Ostensibly restricting the number of  positions that Cabinet members, undersecretaries or assistant assistant secretaries may hold in addition to their primary position to not more than 2 positions in the government and government corporations, EO 284 actually allows them to hold ho ld multiple offices or employment in direct contravention of the express mandate of Sec Se c 13, Art 7 of the 1987 Constitution prohibiting them from doing so, unless otherwise provided in the 1987 1 987 Constitution itself.

OPINION No. 155, Series of 1988 by the Secretary of Justice  - construed that the limitation imposed by EO 284 are not n ot applying to ex-officio positions or to p positions ositions which, although not so designated as ex-officio are allowed by b y the primary functions of the public official, but only to the holding of multiple positions which are not related to or necessarily included in the position of the public official concerned (disparate positions).