Ganzon v CA

FACT: Rodolfo Ganzon was the then mayor of Iloilo City. 10 complaints were filed against him on grounds
of misconduct and misfeasance of office. The Secretary of Local Government issued 3 suspension orders
(60 days each) against Ganzon based on the merits of the complaints filed against him. Given that he is
facing 10 complaints, if prima facie evidence exist then Ganzon would be facing about 600 days of
suspension. Ganzon appealed the issue to the CA and the CA affirmed the suspension order by the
Secretary. Ganzon asserted that the 1987 Constitution does not authorize the President nor any of his alter
ego to suspend and remove local officials; this is because the 1987 Constitution supports local autonomy
and strengthens the same. What was given by the present Constitution was mere supervisory power.

ISSUE: Whether or not the Secretary of Local Government, as the President’s alter ego, can suspend and
or remove local officials.

HELD: Yes. Ganzon is under the impression that the Constitution has left the President mere supervisory
powers, which supposedly excludes the power of investigation, and denied her control, which allegedly
embraces disciplinary authority. It is a mistaken impression because legally, “supervision” is not
incompatible with disciplinary authority.

The SC had occasion to discuss the scope and extent of the power of supervision by the President over local
government officials in contrast to the power of control given to him over executive officials of our
government wherein it was emphasized that the two terms, control and supervision, are two different things
which differ one from the other in meaning and extent. “In administration law supervision means overseeing
or the power or authority of an officer to see that subordinate officers perform their duties. If the latter fail
or neglect to fulfill them the former may take such action or step as prescribed by law to make them perform
their duties.

Control, on the other hand, means the power of an officer to alter or modify or nullify of set aside what a
subordinate officer had done in the performance of his duties and to substitute the judgment of the former
for that of the latter.” But from this pronouncement it cannot be reasonably inferred that the power of
supervision of the President over local government officials does not include the power of investigation
when in his opinion the good of the public service so requires.

The Secretary of Local Government, as the alter ego of the president, in suspending Ganzon is exercising
a valid power. As we observed earlier, imposing 600 days of suspension which is not a remote possibility
Mayor Ganzon is to all intents and purposes, to make him spend the rest of his term in inactivity. It is also
to make, to all intents and purposes, his suspension permanent. We reiterate that we are not precluding the
President, through the Secretary of Interior from exercising a legal power, yet we are of the opinion that the
Secretary of Interior is exercising that power oppressively, and needless to say, with a grave abuse of
discretion.

FALLO: The suspensions are AFFIRMED, provided that the petitioner, Mayor Rodolfo Ganzon, may not
be made to serve future suspensions on account of any of the remaining administrative charges pending
against him for acts committed prior to August 11, 1988. The Secretary of Interior is ORDERED to
consolidate all such administrative cases pending against Mayor Ganzon