RED, SUNSHINE S.

ADMIN LAW QUIZ 1 (PRELIMS)

I.
Office of the Department of Tourism
MEMORANDUM
December 19, 2016
TO: Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines
FROM: Secretary of Department of Tourism
SUBJECT: Marinduque Airport Construction of Runway and Other Facilities

The Department of Tourism (DOT), as one of the major economic planners in the
Philippines and by virtue of the power given by law to promote and develop the tourism
industry and create favorable image in the Philippines, hereby instructs the Civil Aviation
Authority to expedite the completion of the Marinduque Airport Facility.
The Department, under Sec 3 (k) of Republic Act No. 9593, also known as
Tourism Act of 2009 has the objective to promote the progressive development of
existing civil aviation, land and sea transportation policies as they relate to tourism, in
consonance with existing bilateral agreements and inter-agency pronouncements.
Under Sec. 96 of the same Act, the Department through the development of an inter-
modal international and domestic land, sea, and air access system, and in coordination
with relevant government agencies, shall increase and improve the accessibility of the
Philippines to domestic and foreign tourists.
In line with this powers and responsibilities, one of the projects which was
already funded sufficiently and should now be under construction is the Concreting of
the runway and other facilities of Marinduque Airport. Its already been couple of years
since the Mariduque Airport was used by the local passengers and tourists. Due to the
Airport being not operational for years, some of its major tourist attractions which
include Bellarocca Resort, which was considered before as the only 6-star resort in the
Philippines slowly died.
Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines (CAAP), being attached to the
Department of Transportation and having the responsibility for implementing policies on
civil aviation to assure safe, economic and efficient air travel, in the exercise of your
power should lead in facilitating to speed up the construction and completion of the
Marinduque Airport to reestablish the tourist attractions in Marinduque and boost its
economy. CAAP should in no way stop its operations regardless of the oppositions of
the Local Government due to personal and political reasons. There is no time to spare
in completing this project. If necessary and refusal of the Local Government subsists,
appropriate action must be instituted to continue the smooth execution of the project.
Bearing in mind that there were already considerable delays, extra time and effort is
needed to complete this operation in due time. Excuses will no longer be entertained as
the economy of the country is being affected. As the Secretary of the Department of
Tourism, an ex-officio chairperson and member of the Civil Aviation is mandating the
CAAP to do all legal means and use every resources given, utilize the fund wisely and
appropriately to accelerate the completion of Marinduque Facilities without any further
delay.
The entire tourism industry is looking forward to the continued support of the Civil
Aviation Authority for the improvement not just of the Marinduque Airport but all of the
airport infrastructures, aviation safety and security so that we can achieve our ultimate
goal and that is to increase the number of tourists in the Philippines to promote and
raise our economy and create a valuable image of our country.
RED, SUNSHINE S. ADMIN LAW QUIZ 1 (PRELIMS)

II.
SPEECH BRIEFER:
A memorandum issued by the President has the force and effect of a law, but it shall
in no way defeat a clear provision of law and of constitution.
Memorandum Circular No. 4, s. 2016 which was signed by the Executive on August
22, directs all appointees of the previous president to tender their unqualified courtesy
resignations within seven (7) calendar days. The issuance of this memorandum was
allegedly rooted in the Presidents belief that this will curb the corruption in the
bureaucracy.
While the apparent objective of the memorandum is aimed for the betterment of the
country, it cannot be denied that the Memorandum itself defeats its very purpose. The
President of the Philippines has clearly a power to appoint cabinet secretaries and
chairperson. But it cannot remove force to resign an official appointed in the office
whose tenure is secured by law without justifiable ground.
In the case of both the appointed Chairpersons of the Commission on Higher
Education (CHED) and the Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC). Their tenure is
indeed secured by law. The Memorandum issued cannot be used against these
Chairpersons to compel their resignation.
Sec. 5 of Republic Act No. 7722, also known as Higher Education Act of 1994
provides:
SEC. 5. Term of Office. - The President shall appoint the full-time chairman
and the commissioners for a term of four (4) years, without prejudice to one
reappointment. The terms of the initial appointees shall be on a staggered
basis: the full-time chairman shall hold office for a term of four (4) years, the
next two (2) commissioners for three (3) years, and the last two (2)
commissioners for two (2) years. The commissioners shall hold office until their
successors shall have been appointed and qualified. Should a member of the
Commission fail to complete his term, his successor shall be appointed by the
President of the Philippines but only for the unexpired portion of the term.
The law further says that the chairpersons and commissioners "shall be holders of
earned doctorate(s), who have been actively engaged in higher education for at least 10
years, and must not have been candidates for elective positions in the elections
immediately preceding their appointment. They shall be academicians known for their
high degree of professionalism and integrity who have distinguished themselves as
authorities in their chosen fields of learning."
The incumbent Chairperson of the Commission on Higher Education, would retain
her post under the new administration because she has a fixed term of office until
2018. The President should commit himself to respect the law that sets the fixed term of
the Chairperson which will end in July 2018, recognizing the Chairpersons integrity,
dynamism, and competence to carry out the significant reforms needed in the next two
years as the country ushers in the era of internationalization and global competitiveness
of its higher education.
The ERC, which is a quasi-judicial and legislative body which was created by the
Electric Power Industry Reform Act or EPIRA. Under Section 38 of R.A. 9136, known as
the Electric Power Industry Reform Act of 2001 provides:
SEC 38.
XXX The Chairman of the Commission, who shall be a member of the
Philippine Bar, shall act as the Chief Executive Officer of the Commission.
RED, SUNSHINE S. ADMIN LAW QUIZ 1 (PRELIMS)

All members of the Commission shall have a term of seven (7) years:
Provided, That for the first appointees, the Chairman shall hold office for
seven (7) years, two (2) members shall hold office for five (5) years and
the other two (2) members shall hold office for three (3) years; Provided,
further, That appointment to any future vacancy shall only be for the
unexpired term of the predecessor: Provided, finally, That there shall be
no reappointment and in no case shall any member serve for more than
seven (7) years in the Commission. XXX
From the charters of these commissions, the terms of the chairpersons were fixed
by law. These clear provisions of the tenure of the official cannot be defeated by the
Memorandum issued by the President. If in any case this memorandum will be used to
force the resignation of the chairpersons of the commissions aforementioned and other
chairpersons whose term in the office is fixed by law and is unexpired, this ca only
mean that the memorandum is being used to politicize appointments in the agencies of
the Government.
RED, SUNSHINE S. ADMIN LAW QUIZ 1 (PRELIMS)

III.
The Office of Transportation Security (OTS) was created as the single authority
having the responsibility to secure transportation systems on the Philippines, includeing
Aviation, Sea Transport and Maritime Infrastructure, Land Transportation, Rail System
and Infrastructure.
The Philippine ratified the Convention on International Civil Aviation on 1847 and is
bound to comply with the international standards of safeguarding civil aviation against
acts of unlawful interference, including global terrorism.
Standard 3.1.2 of the ICAO Annex 17, Amendment 11 stated that Each Contracting
State shall designate and specify to ICAO an appropriate authority within its
administration to be responsible for the development, implementation and maintenance
of the national civil aviation security programme.
OTS agency is allegedly involved in a series of bullet-planting scams. The
Department of Tourism believes that the most effective way to cleanse the airport
systems of the Philippines to prevent future scandals and tourism scare in the is to
abolish the OTS.
The Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines (CAAP) is responsible for the
managing all aviation operations of the country. CAAP works with MIAA to ensure that
transportation facilities and security implementation towards passengers are always
insured. Both agencies are under the Executive Branch of the Philippine Givernment