VILLENA VS.

SECRETARY

FACTS:
 Division of Investigation of the DOJ, upon the request of the Secretary of the Interior,
conducted an inquiry into the conduct of the Villena, mayor of Makati, Rizal, as a result
of which the latter was found to have committed bribery, extortion, malicious abuse of
authority ad unauthorized practice of the law profession.
 The respondent recommended the suspension of Villena to the President of the
Philippines, in which it was verbally granted.
 The Secretary then suspended Villena from office. Villena filed a petition for preliminary
injunction against the Sec. to restrain him and his agents from proceeding with the
investigation.

ISSUE:
Whether or not the Secretary of the Interior has jurisdiction or authority to suspend and order
investigation over Villena.

RULING:
 The Secretary of Interior has the power to order investigation and to suspend Mayor
Villena.
 As to the power to order investigation, it was provided in Section 79 (C) of RAC that
Department of Interior was given the authority to supervise bureaus and offices under
its jurisdiction.
 This was interpreted in relation to Section 86 of the same Code which granted the said
Department of executive supervision over administration of provinces, municipalities
and other political subdivisions.
 This supervision covers the power to order investigation because supervision “implies
authority to inquire into facts and conditions in order to render power real and
effective.”
 However, unlike this power to order investigation, the power to suspend a mayor was
not provided in any law.
 There was no express grant of authority to the Secretary of Interior to suspend a Mayor.
 Nevertheless, Section 2188 of the Administrative Code granted the provincial governor
the power of suspension.
 Yet this did not mean that the grant precluded the Secretary of Interior.
 The Doctrine of Qualified Political Agency which provides that “the acts of the
department secretaries, performed and promulgated in the regular course of business,
are, unless disapproved or reprobated by the President, presumptively the acts of the
President.”
 The power to suspend may be exercised by the President.
 It follows that the heads of the Department under her may also exercise the same,
unless the law required the President to act personally or that situation demanded him
so, because the heads of the departments are assistants and agents of the President.