[A.M. No. 99-12-02-SB. November 14, 2000]

RE: REQUEST OF SANDIGANBAYAN PRESIDING JUSTICE GARCHITORENA FOR THE RECLASSIFICATION OF POSITIONS IN THE SANDIGANBAYAN

EN BANC

Gentlemen:

Quoted hereunder, for your information, is a resolution of this Court dated NOV 14 2000.

A.M. No. 99-12-02-SB (Re: Request of Sandiganbayan Presiding Justice Francis E. Garchitorena for the Reclassification and/or Upgrading of Positions of Chiefs and Assistant Chiefs of Divisions in the Sandiganbayan.)

In his letter of 24 November 1999 addressed to the Honorable Chief Justice Hilario G. Davide, Jr., Sandiganbayan Presiding Justice Francis E. Garchitorena requested for the upgrading and reclassification of the positions of Chiefs and Assistant Chiefs of Divisions in the Sandiganbayan. The request was premised on our Resolution of 25 June 1999 reclassifying and/or upgrading the positions of Chiefs of Division with SG 24 and Assistant Chiefs of Division with SG 22 to Chief Judicial Staff Officer with SG 25 and Supervising Judicial Staff Officer with SG 23, respectively, arguing that the Sandiganbayan "is on the same level as the Court of Appeals" and the Chiefs of Division and Assistant Chiefs of its three (3) administrative support divisions, namely, Administrative Division, Budget & Finance Division and Judicial Records Division, "exercise a certain degree of discretion and are burdened with great responsibilities" like their counterparts in the Supreme Court and the Court of Appeals.

Specifically, the Sandiganbayan positions sought to be reclassified and/or upgraded, with the corresponding new titles and salary grades 1 Per letter-re quest dated 18 December 1995 of Mariles M. Sales, et al., to then Chief Justice Andres R. Narvasa thru Presiding Justice Francis E. Garchitorena follow:

OLD TITLE/GRADE ����������������������������������������������������������� PROPOSED

Executive Assistant V (Staff Head,������������������������� SB Presiding Justice Staff Head/SG 25

Office of the Presiding Justice)

SG 24

Executive Assistant IV (Staff Head,������������������������ SB Judicial Staff Head (Office of

Office of the Associate Justices)����������������������������� the Associate Justice/SG 23)

SG 22

Director III, Legal Research &������������������������������� SB Senior Chief Staff Officer/SG 28

Technical Staff/SG 27

Administrative Officer V (Chief,������������������������������ SB Chief Judicial Staff Officer/SG 25

Administrative Division/SG 24)

Records Officer V (Chief, Judicial��������������������������� SB Chief Judicial Staff Officer/SG 25

Records Division/SG 24)

Financial & Management Officer II������������������������ SB Chief Judicial Staff Officer/SG 25

(Chief, Budget & Finance Division/

SG 24)

Executive Assistant IV (Office of���������������������������� SB Supervising Judicial Staff Officer/SG 23

the Presiding Justice/SG 22)

Administrative Officer IV (Assistant����������� SB Supervising Judicial Staff Officer/SG 23

Chief, Administrative Division/SG 22)

Records Officer IV (Assistant Chief,���������� SB Supervising Judicial Staff Officer/SG 23

Administrative Division/SG 22

Financial & Management Officer I������������������������� SB Supervising Judicial Staff Officer/SG 23

(Assistant Chief, Budget & Finance

Division/SG 22

Chief Justice Davide Jr. referred the request to Atty. Adelaida Cabe-Baumann, then Chief, Office of Administrative Services. In a Memorandum dated 6 December 1999 Atty. Cabe-Baumann recommended its approval, favorably endorsed by Atty. Luzviminda D. Puno, Clerk of Court.

On 18 January 2000 the Court referred the Memorandum to Atty. Edna E. Di�o, Deputy Clerk of Court & Chief Attorney, for study. Subsequently, on 21 March 2000 the Court directed her and Atty. Eden T. Candelaria, then Acting Chief of Administrative Services, to submit their comments and recommendations.

Meanwhile, on 18 February 2000, Atty. Di�o 2 Report dated 18 February 2000 submitted by Atty. Edna E. Di�o, Deputy Clerk of Court & Chief Attorney; Comment and Recommendation dated 25 April 2000 submitted by Atty. Edna E. Di�o, Deputy Clerk of Court & Chief Attorney and Atty. Wilfredo V. Lapitan, Assistant Chief Attorney submitted her Report. On 25 April 2000 she together with Atty. Wilfredo V. Lapitan, Assistant Chief Attorney, submitted her Comment and Recommendation. On 30 May 2000 Atty. Candelaria 3 Memorandurn dated 30 May 2000 submitted by Atty. Eden T. Candelaria, Acting Chief, Office of Administrative Services.submitted her Memorandum.

In separate position papers, both Atty. Di�o and Atty. Candelaria recommended to-

1. GRANT the request to reclassify and upgrade the positions of Chiefs of Division and Assistant Chiefs of Division in the Sandiganbayan with the corresponding salary grades as proposed;

2. GRANT the request to reclassify and upgrade positions of Executive Assistant Vs (Office of the Presiding Justice) and Executive Assistant IVs (Offices of the Associate Justices) in the Sandiganbayan, provided that the positions be upgraded only to Executive Assistant VIs (SG 25) level with the corresponding RATA, and provided further that the employees of the Court of Appeals similarly situated are extended the same reclassification and upgrading;

3. DENY the request for reclassification and upgrading of the position of Director III (Legal Research and Technical Staff) to SB Senior Chief of Staff Officer (SG 28) for lack of merit;

4. DENY the request for reclassification and upgrading of the position of Executive Assistant IVs (SG 22), Office of the SB Presiding Justice, to SB Supervising Judicial Staff Officer (SG 23) for lack of merit. Atty. Di�o did not discuss the reason for denying the request while Atty. Candelaria found no compelling reason to grant it.

The recommendations are well-taken. This Court, considering the availability of funds and the recommendations of the Chief Attorney and the Assistant Chief Attorney, as well as of the Chief of Administrative Services, approves their recommendations. Consequently, we -

First . GRANT the reclassification and upgrading of the positions of Chiefs of Division and Assistant Chiefs of Division in the Sandiganbayan with the corresponding salary grade levels as proposed.

This Court in its 25 August 1999 Resolution granted a similar request of the Court of Appeals pertaining to its Chiefs of Division and Assistant Chiefs of Division explaining that Chiefs of Divisions "being under the supervision only of higher authorities such as the Clerk of Court and not of a particular office/service, exercise a wider latitude of judgment and even bear a greater burden of responsibilities." It was further stated that, compared to the position of a Chief Judicial Staff Officer, "the appointment of said division chiefs requires the possession by the appointee of a master's degree, experience, and eligibility."

The same reasons would apply to the instant request. As the Sandiganbayan stands on the same level as the Court of Appeals, its employees similarly situated should be granted the requested reclassification and upgrading.

Second . GRANT the request for reclassification and upgrading of the position of Executive Assistant V (Staff Head, Office of the Presiding Justice) with SG 24, and the position of Executive Assistant IV (Staff Head, Office of the Associate Justices) with SG 22, with the MODIFICATION that the position shall be upgraded only to Executive Assistant VI (SG 25) level with the corresponding RATA, and that employees of the Court of Appeals similarly situated shall be extended the same reclassification and upgrading.

The reclassification and upgrading of the subject positions to SB Presiding Justice Staff Head with SG 25 and SB Judicial Staff Head with SG 23, respectively, is inappropriate as the requested position-titles connote that the incumbents thereof exercise authority, control and supervision over all the personnel in the offices where they are assigned, which is not the case. The lone position of Executive Assistant V in the Office of the Sandiganbayan Presiding Justice and the fourteen (14) positions of Executive Assistant IV in the Offices of the Sandiganbayan Associate Justices are charged with the functions and responsibilities of a private secretary. They do not have supervisory authority over their lawyer-staff members but only over their clerical staff, unlike the Chief Justice' Staff Head and Judicial Staff Heads in the Supreme Court who exercise supervisory functions over all their staff members.

However, in Resolution No. 98-7-01-SC dated 23 June 1998 providing for the new staffing pattern of the reorganized Office of the Court Administrator, the positions of the private secretaries in the Offices of the Court Administrator and the Deputy Court Administrators have been reclassified from Executive Assistant V with SG 24 to Executive Assistant VI with SG 25.

As the Court Administrator has the rank of a Court of Appeals (CA) Presiding Justice and the Deputy Court Administrators have the rank of CA Associate Justices, and considering further that the Court of Appeals and the Sandiganbayan are of equal rank, it is only just that the private secretaries of the Justices in the Court of Appeals and the Sandiganbayan be accorded the same position-titles and salary levels as those given to the private secretaries of the Court Administrator and Deputy Court Administrators. The private secretaries in the Sandiganbayan and Court of Appeals, like their counterparts in the Offices of the Court Administrator and Deputy Court Administrators, basically perform the same functions and are burdened with the same responsibilities and accountabilities and must possess the same aptitude, honesty and integrity to enjoy the utmost confidence of their respective superiors Thus, the subject positions shall be upgraded to the position of Executive Assistant VI with SG 25 and corresponding RATA.

Third . DENY the request for reclassification and upgrading of the position of Director III, Legal Research & Technical Staff with SG 27 to SB Senior Chief Staff Officer with SG 28.

As a Director III of the Sandiganbayan Legal and Technical Staff has the same salary grade (SG 27) as that of Reporter II of the Court of Appeals, the reasons set forth in the 25 August 1999 Resolution denying the request for the upgrading of the salary grade of the Court of Appeals Reporter would apply to the instant request. The request, if granted, would cause a distortion of the hierarchical order of lawyer-positions in the Sandiganbayan as the position of Director III would be placed on the same salary level as that of the Sandiganbayan Division Clerks of Court. Further, a Director III (SG 27) already has a salary grade level two grades higher than that of a chief of a division (SG 25), yet its complement of twenty (20) personnel is less than the number of personnel in a division; and

Fourth . DENY the request for reclassification and upgrading of the position of Executive Assistant IV with SG 22, Office of the Sandiganbayan Presiding Justice, to SB Supervising Judicial Staff Officer with SG 23 for lack of merit.

The suggested position-title of SB Supervising Judicial Staff Officer with SG 23 is the position pertaining to an Assistant Chief of Division in the Supreme Court or Court of Appeals with the same salary grade which requires the exercise of supervisory functions. However, the duties and responsibilities of an Executive Assistant IV in the Office of the Sandiganbayan Presiding Justice cannot be equated with those of the SC or CA Assistant Chief of Division as the former only performs purely staff assistance work. Parenthetically, an Executive Assistant IV in the Office of the Sandiganbayan Presiding Justice has a permanent appointment which gives him an edge over the other staff members of the Sandiganbayan Justices whose appointments are coterminous with their respective justices.

Very truly yours,

LUZVIMINDA D. PUNO

Clerk of Court

(Sgd.) MA. LUISA D. VILLARAMA

Asst. Clerk of Court


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