Case 177-Sarmiento vs Mison

G.R. No. 79974 (section 16, art 7)

Facts:

In 1987, Salvador Mison was appointed as the Commissioner of the Bureau of Customs by
then president Corazon Aquino. Ulpiano Sarmiento III and Juanito Arcilla, being members of the bar,
taxpayers, and professors of constitutional law questioned the appointment of Mison because it appears
that Misons appointment was not submitted to the Commission on Appointments (COA) for approval.
Sarmiento insists that uner the new Constitution, heads of bureaus require the confirmation of the COA.

Meanwhile, Sarmiento also sought to enjoin Guillermo Carague, the then Secretary of the
Department of Budget, from disbursing the salary payments of Mison due to the unconstitutionality of
Misons appointment.

ISSUE:

Whether the appointment of heads of bureaus needed the confirmation Commission on

Appointment.

HELD:

No. In the 1987 Constitution, the framers removed heads of bureaus as one of those
officers needing confirmation by the Commission on Appointment. Under the 1987 Constitution, there
are four (4) groups of officers whom the President shall appoint. These four (4) groups are:

First, the heads of the executive departments, ambassadors, other public ministers and consuls, officers
of the armed forces from the rank of colonel or naval captain, and other officers whose appointments
are vested in him in this Constitution;

Second, all other officers of the Government whose appointments are not otherwise provided for by
law;

Third, those whom the President may be authorized by law to appoint;

Fourth, officers lower in rank whose appointments the Congress may by law vest in the President alone.

The first group above is the only public officers appointed by the president which require confirmation
by the COA. The second, third, and fourth group do not require confirmation by the COA. The position of
Mison as the head of the Bureau of Customs does not belong to the first group hence he does not need
to be confirmed by the COA.