Why water district general managers are confidential officers

In Civil Service Commission (CSC) v. Pililla Water District (G.R. No. 190147, March 05, 2013), the Court of Appeals (CA) held that the position of General Manager of a water district is primarily confidential in nature, explaining thus:

x x x we rule that the position of general manager remains primarily confidential in nature despite the amendment of Section 23 of P.D. No. 198 by R.A. No. 9286, which gave the occupant of said position security of tenure, in that said officer could only be removed from office for cause and after due process. The nature of the duties and functions attached to the position points to its confidential character. First, the general manager is directly appointed by the board of directors. Second, the general manager directly reports to the board of directors. Third, the duties and responsibilities of a general manager are determined by the board of directors, which is a clear indication of a closely intimate relationship that exists between him and the board. Fourth, the duties and responsibilities of a general manager are not merely clerical and routinary in nature. His work involves policy and decision making. Fifth, the compensation of the general manager is fixed by the board of directors. And last, the general manager is directly accountable for his actions and omissions to the board of directors. Under this situation, the general manager is expected to possess the highest degree of honesty, integrity and loyalty, which is crucial to maintaining trust and confidence between him and the board of directors. The loss of such trust or confidence could easily result in the termination of the general manager’s services by the board of directors. To be sure, regardless of the security of tenure a general manager may now enjoy, his term may still be ended by the board of directors based on the ground of “loss of confidence.”[26] (Emphasis in the original)

The Supreme Court sustained the above ruling and explanation of the CA.