CDA administrator authorized to appoint all personnel except deputy—DOJ

Justice Undersecretary Raul Vasquez issued the legal opinion on behalf of Secretary Jesus Crispin Remulla, citing provisions stated under Republic Act No. 11364 or the CDA Charter of 2019.

The law mandates that “in no uncertain terms that the power to appoint CDA personnel with a rank lower than a Deputy Administrator is vested with the CDA Administrator.”

“As the statute is clear, plain, and free from ambiguity, it must be given its literal meaning and applied without attempted interpretation,” the DOJ opinion said.

CDA Chairman Joseph Encabo sought the legal opinion to address conflicting views on the power to appoint under RA 11364 and RA 6939 that created the CDA.

Encabo noted that RA 6939 allowed the then CDA Board of Administrators to appoint all personnel in the agency regardless of position and rank.

According to Encabo, RA 11364 departs from this rule by allowing the CDA administrator the power to appoint personnel lower than the position of deputy administrator.

The DOJ said the CDA Board of Directors that Encabo chairs may review the recommendations of the Human Resource Merit Promotion and Selection Board (HRMPSB) on the top five ranking candidates for appointments lower than deputy administrator and recommend candidates.

But it said “the eventual decision on who to appoint rests solely with the CDA Administrator.”

“Thus, the CDA Administrator may or may not appoint the persons recommended by the CDA Board of Directors, as it is the sole discretion of the CDA Administrator whom to appoint,” it pointed out.

The DOJ argued, however, that while the administrator has been mandated by law to execute the resolution of the CDA Board of Directors, the board of directors “has no authority to pass a resolution approving the appointment of personnel lower than the position of Deputy Administrator.”

— Rey E. Requejo