Formal investigation before dismissal of govt employee a requirement of due process

Respondents argue that petitioner was summarily dismissed under Section 40 of P.D. 807 which was still in force at that time. However, the first summary dismissal on 2 January 1986 was subsequently revised, superseded, and judicially settled with finality. And the second summary dismissal on 8 February 1988 was admittedly done without prior notice and hearing. A perusal of the pleadings with annexes filed in G.R. No. 73449 shows that no formal investigation of the charges was conducted against the petitioner despite his express request in his answer to the charges, pursuant to Section 39(b) of P.D. 807. It is clear that petitioner was deprived of a basic right guaranteed by the due process clause an opportunity to be heard. [G.R. No. 107841. November 14, 1996]