Rafael v. Villena

Facts:

Petitioner Jose Villena was mayor of Makati. An investigation was ordered by the Dept. of Interior Secretary(respondent) and as a result petitioner was found to have committed bribery, extortion, malicious abuse of authority and unauthorized practice of the law profession.

Respondent recommended to the Office of the President to suspend petitioner, which was granted verbally by the President on the same day. The Petitioner was suspended. Hence this petition for preliminary injunction.

Petitioner contended that the Secretary did not have the jurisdiction to suspend him, act as complainant, as well as decide the merits of the case by himself.

ISSUE: W/N the Secretary of Interior has the legal authority to order the investigation and appoint an investigator conduct the investigation and order the suspension of the Petitioner

YES. Section 86 of the same Administrative Code grants to the Department of the Interior Secretary "executive supervision over the administration of provinces, municipalities, chartered cities and other local political subdivisions.’ Hence, the Secretary has direct control, direction, and supervision over bureaus and offices under him. The ruling in the case of Planas v Gil was reiterated,  that supervision is not a meaningless thing.

Principle of Qualified Political Agency

Under the presidential type of government, all executive and administrative organizations are adjuncts of the Executive Department, the heads of the various executive departments are assistants and agents of the Chief Executive, and except in cases where the Chief Executive is required by the Constitution or the law to act in person or the exigencies of the situation demand that he act personally, the multifarious executive and administrative functions of the Chief Executive are performed by and through the executive departments, and the acts of the secretaries of such departments, performed and promulgated in the regular course of business, are, unless disapproved or reprobated by the Chief Executive, presumptively the acts of the Chief Executive.