DAVAO CITY — The Office of the President has dismissed Maria Belen Acosta as the chairperson of the Mindanao Development Authority (MinDA), citing a “loss of trust and confidence” on the part of the appointing authority.
In a two-page letter signed by Executive Secretary Lucas P. Bersamin dated May 22, 2024, the Palace responded to Acosta’s claim that she had security of tenure for six years under Republic Act 9996 by referencing two legal precedents. A copy of the letter was provided to Newsline by the Office of the President late in the afternoon of May 22.
“Given the nature of the position of Chairman of the Mindanao Development Authority as primarily confidential and policy-determining, the President, as the appointing authority, validly and effectively removed you for cause due to the loss of his trust and confidence in you,” Bersamin stated.
“Your declaration is utterly untenable for being contrary to existing laws and relevant jurisprudence. I need to stress that your replacement was effective and valid upon the assumption of your successor in office, Secretary Leo Tereso A. Magno, on May 21, 2024. By that event, your term of office was terminated for cause due to the loss of trust and confidence in you on the part of the appointing authority,” the letter continued.
Here’s the full text of Bersamin’s letter to Acosta:
Dear Ms. Acosta:
You have issued a so-called “official statement” dated May 20, 2024 whereby you declared that “the post of Secretary and Chairperson of the Mindanao Development Authority (MinDA) is not officially vacant [;hence, your] replacement is not warranted.” The cited basis of your declaration is that President Duterte had appointed you to a term of six years pursuant to Section 7 of Republic Act No. 9996.
Your declaration is utterly untenable for being contrary to existing laws and relevant jurisprudence. I need to stress that your replacement was effective and valid upon the assumption of your successor in office, Secretary Leo Tereso A. Magno, on May 21, 2024. By that event, your term of office was terminated for cause due to the loss of trust and confidence in you on the part of the appointing power.
The position of Chairman of the Mindanao Development Authority is an office with Cabinet rank whose duties and responsibilities include supervising the implementation of Mindanao-wide and/or Mindanao-specific inter-regional programs, convening the BIMP-EAGA Advisory Board, and advising the President on Mindanao- related matters. Clearly, it is primarily confidential and policy determining in nature.
The explanation for this status of primarily confidential has been aptly explained in De Los Santos v. Mallare,1 where the Supreme Court indicated that the confidence involved “denotes not only confidence in the aptitude of the appointee for the duties of the office but primarily close intimacy which insures freedom of intercourse without embarrassment or freedom form misgivings of betrayals of personal trust or confidential matters of state.”
The determination of whether an office or position is primarily confidential or policy determining is initially vested in the appointing power; the nature of the office or position, not the characterization by the Congress of the office or position as one that is primarily confidential or policy determining, is controlling. This was the holding in Piñero v. Hechanova,2 where the principal issue posed was whether or not the petitioners could be dismissed without cause or hearing for mere lack of confidence. The Supreme Court opined thereat that at least since the passage of Republic Act No. 2260 (Civil Service Act of 1959) the nature alone of the position or office should determine whether it was primarily confidential, policy determining, or highly technical, and that the Congress had no power to declare whether the position or office was primarily confidential or not.
Worthy to note is that Piñero v. Hechanova has been reiterated a lot of times, regardless of whether or not the law creating the office or position includes the phrase “in nature” as descriptive of the phrase “primarily confidential, policy determining, or highly technical.”
Given the nature of the position of Chairman of the Mindanao Development Authority as primarily confidential and policy determining, the President as the appointing power validly and effectively removed you for cause due to loss of his trust and confidence in you.”
The copy of the letter was furnished to Chairperson Gamaliel Asis Cordoba of the Commission on Audit.
On May 20, Acosta issued a press statement asserting that there was no need to appoint a new MinDA chairperson since the position was not vacant and replacement was not warranted. However, Bersamin countered this by stating, “You have issued a so-called ‘official statement’ dated May 20, 2024, whereby you declared that ‘the post of Secretary and Chairperson of the Mindanao Development Authority (MinDA) is not officially vacant; hence, your replacement is not warranted.'”
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The letter was sent to the official email of MinDA while Acosta was leading a church service in her office.
In a general staff meeting this morning, Acosta declared her intention to pursue a legal battle, claiming that the law is on her side.
