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 ARTICLE VII [EXECUTIVE DEPARTMENT]

Section 16. The President shall nominate and, with the consent of theCommission on Appointments, appoint the heads of the executivedepartments, ambassadors, other public ministers and consuls, or oicersof the armed forces from the ran of colonel or naval captain, and otheroicers whose appointments are vested in him in this Constitution. !e shallalso appoint all other oicers of the "overnment whose appointments arenot otherwise provided for b# law, and those whom he ma# be authori$edb# law to appoint. The Con%ress ma#, b# law, vest the appointment of otheroicers lower in ran in the President alone, in the courts, or in the headsof departments, a%encies, commissions, or boards.

The President shall have the power to mae appointments durin% therecess of the Con%ress, whether voluntar# or compulsor#, but suchappointments shall be eective onl# until disapproved b# the Commissionon Appointments or until the next ad&ournment of the Con%ress.

Pobre vs. Mendieta '".(. )o. 1*66++, ul# -, 1//0

FACTS: These consolidated petitions under (ules 2 and 62 of the (ules ofCourt were 3led b# !er %enes Pobre to set aside the court4s decision andwrit of prohibitor# in&unction, issued b# ud%e Corona 5ba#Somera,annullin% the appointment extended b# President Cora$on C. A7uino to thepetitioner, !ermo%enes Pobre, as Commissioner8Chairman of theProfessional (e%ulation Commission mo 9P(C: and en&oinin% him fromdischar%in% the duties and functions of that oice.

The controvers# be%an on anuar# -, 1//-, when the term of oice of!onorable ulio ;. xecutive Secretar# wanted to now whether the President ma#appoint as Commissioner8Chairman of the P(C another AssociateCommissioner or an# person other than the Senior AssociateCommissioner.

5n a =emorandum, Actin% Secretar# of ustice Silvestre !. ;ello, 555answered the 7ueries as follows? ;ased on the fore%oin% premises, it is our

 view that Section - of P.@. )o. -- does not limit or restrict the appointin%power of the President. 5t has been said that those matters which theConstitution speci3call# con3des to the executive, the le%islative cannotdirectl# or indirectl# tae from his control

Pobre opposed the issuance of a restrainin% order because President A7uino had alread# appointed him P(C Chairman and he had, in fact,

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 ARTICLE VII [EXECUTIVE DEPARTMENT]

alread# taen his oath of oice on )T CA))DT ;> (>ST(5CT>@ TDT!> PD5)T T!AT T!> DS T!> @5SC(>T5D). The Court

3nds unacceptable the view that ever# vacanc# in the Commission 9exceptthe position of &unior Associate Commissioner: shall be 3lled b#succession or b# operation of law for that would deprive the Presidentof his power to appoint a new P(C Commissioner and AssociateCommissioners F all to be appointed b# the President under P.@. )o--. The absurd result would be that the onl# occasion for the President toexercise his appointin% power would be when the position of &unior 9orsecond: Associate Commissioner becomes vacant. e ma# not presumethat when the President issued P.@. )o. --, he deliberatel# clipped his

prero%ative to choose and appoint the head of the P(C and limited himselfto the selection and appointment of onl# the associate commissioneroccup#in% the lowest run% of the ladder in that a%enc#. Since such anabsurdit# ma# not be presumed, the Court should so construe the law as toavoid it.

The dut# devolves on the court to ascertain the true meanin% where thelan%ua%e of a statute is of doubtful meanin%, or where an adherence to thestrict letter would lead to in&ustice, absurdit#, or contradictor# provisions,

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 ARTICLE VII [EXECUTIVE DEPARTMENT]

since an ambi%uit# callin% for construction ma# arise when theconse7uence of a literal interpretation of the lan%ua%e is an un&ust, absurd,unreasonable, or mischievous result, or one at variance with the polic# ofthe le%islation as a wholeG and the real meanin% of the statute is to beascertained and declared, even thou%h it seems to conHict with the wordsof the statute. 9I- CS 2I/2/*G >mphasis supplied.: