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The Court of Appeals declared that Deputy Customs
Commissioner Reynaldo Nicolas still has 57 days remaining to fully
serve his preventive suspension.
This is contained in a 16-page
decision issued by the CA former 14th Division under the ponencia of
Associate Justice Abdulwahid Hakim.
Nicolas had questioned the
memorandum issued by then-Customs Deputy Commissioner Alexander
Arevalo in October 2005 in his capacity as officer in charge of the
Bureau of Customs (BOC).
In the memorandum, Arevalo denied
Nicolas’ request for reinstatement as deputy commissioner for
intelligence and enforcement group (IEG) of the BOC.
The Office of the Ombudsman
placed Nicolas under a six-month preventive suspension on January
27, 2005, for alleged ill-gotten wealth.
Upon filing of a petition for
certiorari, the court issued a temporary restraining order on June
9, 2005, enjoining the Office of the Ombudsman from enforcing the
order.
By virtue of the TRO, Nicolas
reported for work on June 14, 2005, at the office of the
commissioner of BOC.
Upon his request to be assigned
“to any position . . . during the affectivity of the CA TRO,” he
was assigned to the office of the deputy commissioner for assessment
and operations group.
On October 14, 2005, Nicolas
wrote the respondent asking “he be allowed to perform his tasks as
deputy commissioner for intelligence and enforcement group.”
Respondent in his October 2005
assailed memorandum denied this.
In the CA decision, the appellate
court said, “The OSG correctly argued that not having fully served
his preventive suspension consisting of 60 days, petitioner has no
right to be reinstated to his former position as deputy commissioner
for IEG.”
It also stated that the
reassignment of petitioner as deputy commissioner for AOCG of the
BOC, not for IEG, may not be assailed in this court as the same is
an action made by respondent in the exercise of his discretion, and
approved by the secretary of finance.
It thus dismissed the petition
for lack of merit.
--Jomar Canlas
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