THIRD DIVISION

[G.R. No. 119903. August 15, 2000]

HON. RICARDO T. GLORIA, in his capacity as SECRETARY, AND DIRECTOR NILO L. ROSAS in his
capacity as REGIONAL DIRECTOR, DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION, CULTURE AND
SPORTS, petitioners, vs. HON. COURT OF APPEALS AND DR. BIENVENIDO A.
ICASIANO, respondents.
FACTS:
On June 29, 1989, private respondent Dr. Bienvenido Icasiano was appointed Schools Division
Superintendent, Division of City Schools, Quezon City, by the then President Corazon C. Aquino.
On October 10, 1994, petitioner Secretary Gloria recommended to then President Fidel Ramos that the
petitioner be reassigned as Superintendent of the MIST [Marikina Institute of Science and Technology],
to fill up the vacuum created by the retirement of its Superintendent, Mr. Bannaoag F. Lauro, on June
17, 1994. President Ramos approved the recommendation.
Dr. Icasiano requested Secretary Gloria to reconsider the reassignment, but the latter denied the
request.
On October 19, 1994, Dr. Icasiano prayed to the Court of Appeals for the issuance of a Temporary
Restraining Order (TRO) which was initially denied by the Court of Appeals but subsequently set aside its
decision and restrained the petitioners from implementing the reassignment.
Petitioners are now before the Court seeking relief from the decision of the appellate court. They
contend that the doctrine enunciated in Bentain vs. Court of Appeals -- that "a reassignment that is
indefinite and results in a reduction in rank, status and salary, is in effect, a constructive removal from
the service" -- does not apply in the present case for the reassignment in question was merely
temporary, lasting only until the appointment of a new Vocational School Superintendent of MIST.
[10]

ISSUE:
Whether or not the reassignment of the private respondent is only temporary, hence, the doctrine
enunciated in Bentain vs. Court of Appeals is not applicable to the case at bar.
HELD:
No. The Court upholds the finding of the respondent court that the reassignment of petitioner to MIST
"appears to be indefinite". The same can be inferred from the Memorandum of Secretary Gloria for
President Fidel V. Ramos to the effect that the reassignment of private respondent will "best fit his
qualifications and experience" being "an expert in vocational and technical education." It can thus be
gleaned that subject reassignment is more than temporary as the private respondent has been
described as fit for the (reassigned) job, being an expert in the field. Besides, there is nothing in the said
[11]

Memorandum to show that the reassignment of private respondent is temporary or would only last
until a permanent replacement is found as no period is specified or fixed; which fact evinces an
intention on the part of petitioners to reassign private respondent with no definite period or duration.
Such feature of the reassignment in question is definitely violative of the security of tenure of the
private respondent.