Professional Documents
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En Banc Concerned Lawyers of Bulacan, A.M. No. RTJ-09-2183 Present
En Banc Concerned Lawyers of Bulacan, A.M. No. RTJ-09-2183 Present
PUNO, C.J.,
- versus - QUISUMBING,
YNARES-SANTIAGO,
CARPIO,
CORONA,
PRESIDING JUDGE CARPIO MORALES,
VICTORIA VILLALON- CHICO-NAZARIO,
PORNILLOS, RTC, BRANCH VELASCO, JR.,
10, MALOLOS CITY, NACHURA,
BULACAN, LEONARDO-DE CASTRO,
Respondent. BRION,
PERALTA, and
BERSAMIN, JJ.
Promulgated:
July 7, 2009
x--------------------------------------------------x
DECISION
PER CURIAM:
Respondent reports to court only twice a week. She became mentally ill when her
husband passed away in 1993 and experienced mental trauma when her alleged
lover was killed.
The OCA, which submitted its report by Memorandum of November 24, 2005,
concluded that the allegations of corruption and extortion were based on hearsay;
and absent any evidence from reliable witnesses, it found the same to be difficult to
prove; and as long as no one is willing to come forward and testify based on
personal knowledge, the charges of corruption must fail.
On the allegations of respondents illicit amorous relationships with her driver and
bodyguards, the OCA found the same to be based on rumors, noting that not one of
the witnesses confirmed that respondent and her alleged lovers were seen under
scandalous circumstances.
The OCA confirmed, however, that Judge Pornillos obtained loans from court
personnel and lawyers. One lawyer the team interviewed who maintains a law
office in Malolos disclosed, under condition of anonymity, that respondent
obtained a P5,000 loan from her which has remained unpaid, albeit she has
condoned it as she considers respondent as one of her friends. One court employee
also interviewed by the team similarly revealed that respondent obtained loans
ranging from P500 to P1,000 from her in 1991-1992 which had, however, been
settled.
Respecting respondents alleged reporting to court twice a week, the team noted
that a perusal of the guards logbook indicating the Malolos judges time of arrival
and departure shows that out of the 29 working days for the period from September
1, 2005 to October 11, 2005, respondent reported to court only for 20
days. Respondent notably arrived late in court and departed therefrom almost
always earlier than 4:30 p.m.
Upon the recommendation of the OCA, the Court, by Resolution of January 17,
2006, directed the Office of the Deputy Court Administrator to immediately
conduct a judicial audit to ascertain conclusively whether respondent could be held
to answer administratively for (a) habitual tardiness, (b) failure to report to the
court during all working days of the week, and (c) apparent poor records
management; and to forthwith submit a judicial report thereon.[3]
The Office of the Deputy Court Administrator thus conducted a judicial audit
from July 31, 2007 to August 3, 2007 and examined 354 cases assigned to Branch
10 of the Malolos RTC.
(a) Why the records of Criminal Case No. 600-M-1997 was not
presented to the audit team for judicial audit and to submit to the
Office of the Court Administrator the status of the said cases;
(b) Why it took her several months to act on the Motion for
Reconsideration in the following decided cases: Civil Cases 388-
M-2006, CV-520-M-2006, CV-714-M-2002 and CV-195-2006;
(e) Why Election Case No. 01-M-2004 entitled Apolonio Marcelo vs.
Leonardo De Leon is still pending despite the order of the Comelec
for her to cease and desist from acting on the case since April 3,
2006;
(f) Why the following cases has not been set for further hearing/trial for
a considerable length of time since its last orders:
to submit a report on the status of the following cases which were submitted for
decision and resolution:
and to submit her comment on the charges of (i) habitual tardiness; (ii) failure to
report during all working days of the week; and (iii) apparent poor records
management.[4]
RESPONDENTS COMMENT:
On January 15, 2008, respondent filed her 34-page Comment, devoting the first
five pages thereof to imputing to former Judge Florentino Floro the malicious
filing of the anonymous complaint. She prayed for the immediate dismissal
of all the false charges engineered by petitioner herein for lack of merit, with costs
against him [sic].[5]
Respondent explains that the record of Criminal Case No. 600-M-1997 was not
presented to the audit team for audit because Public Prosecutor Gaudioso Gillera
borrowed it on June 1, 2005 along with two other related cases; and that by Order
of November 29, 2007, Criminal Case No. 600-M-1997 and the related cases were
provisionally dismissed for failure to prosecute.
Respondent belies the delay in resolving the respective motions for reconsideration
in four civil cases. Thus, she explains: In Civil Case No. 388-M-2006, the two
motions for reconsideration of the September 8, 2006 Decision (which were filed
on March 16, 2007 and May 28, 2007) were expunged by Orders of March 16,
2007 and June 28, 2007; the Motion for Reconsideration of March 5, 2007 in Civil
Case No. 520-M-2006 was denied by Order of April 17, 2007 after it was
submitted for resolution on April 16, 2007, and since no appeal was taken
therefrom, the Decision of November 17, 2006 became final and executory; while
Civil Case No. 714-M-2002 was dismissed by Decision of November 15, 2005, the
Motion for Reconsideration was only resolved on January 10, 2007 because the
motion was submitted for resolution only on January 10, 2007; and in Civil Case
No. 195-M-2006, a motion for reconsideration of the June 10, 2006 Decision was
filed on August 24, 2006 but was resolved only on May 10, 2007 because the
motion was submitted for resolution only on May 9, 2007.
Respondent asserts that she has always timely resolved motions submitted for
resolution upon receipt of the last pleading and explains as follows: the last Order
in Criminal Case No. 836-M-1998 found in the records by the audit team was one
dated February 1, 2006 giving the prosecution five days to file the necessary
motion to finally terminate the case but respondent states that she actually issued
an Order of June 28, 2007 setting the pre-trial conference/hearing on August 15,
2007, which was followed by notices of pre-trial conference/hearing for September
26, 2007, October 24, 2007 and February 6, 2008; in Criminal Case No. 2315-M-
2004 where the last notice referred to a trial in absentia set on June 1, 2005, she
scheduled the case for reception of prosecution evidence on October 10, 17,
31, 2007 and of defense evidence on January 30, 2008; in Criminal Case No. 3569-
M-2003, she provisionally dismissed the case by Order of November 9, 2005, and
as no further setting appeared in the record, the case was archived by Order of
April 10, 2007.
On why EPC No. 01-M-2004 was still pending despite the order of the Comelec
for her to cease and desist from acting on the case since April 3, 2006, respondent
explains that she ordered the suspension of the proceedings on March 17, 2005 and
subsequently dismissed the case by Order of August 28, 2007 for being moot after
the protestant filed his candidacy for the Sangguniang Barangay elections.
Respecting the cases listed under paragraph (f) of the Courts November 20, 2007
Resolution, respondent states that there was no necessity to set them for further
hearings because: Civil Case No. 18-M-2005 was already dismissed for failure to
prosecute by Order of April 10, 2007; judgment on the pleadings was rendered on
April 19, 2007 in Civil Case No. 654-M-2004; in Civil Case No. 515-M-2005, the
process server was required, by Order of May 17, 2007, to explain in writing why
no disciplinary action should be taken against him for his non-submission of an
Explanation as required by previous Orders; several hearings were set in Criminal
Case No. 4180-M-2003 by Orders of April 19, 2007, May 30, 2007, June 20, 2007
and December 5, 2007; in Criminal Cases Nos. 2189-M-2003 and 2190-M-2003,
hearings were set on October 3, 2007 and November 21, 2007 by Orders of July
12, 2007 and October 3, 2007, respectively, and subpoena duces tecum/ad
testificandum was issued to confirm the alleged death of the accused at the Manila
City Jail; Criminal Case No. 559-M-2004 was provisionally dismissed by Order of
November 30, 2005; Criminal Case No. 833-M-2003 was provisionally dismissed
by Order of July 6, 2005, which dismissal was clarified by Order of January 17,
2006; and Criminal Case No. 1433-M-1999 was provisionally dismissed by Order
of December 7, 2007.
As for the status of the cases submitted for decision, respondent relates that Civil
Case No. 119-M-2007 was not raffled to Branch 10 but to Branch 20; a Decision of
November 10, 2006 was already rendered in Civil Case No. 583-M-2006; a
Decision of July 19, 2007 was issued in Civil Case No. 310-M-2007; and a
Decision of May 10, 2005 was released in Civil Case No. 071-M-2004.
The Court, however, finds well-taken the audit teams observation that Branch 10
lacks proper monitoring of cases.
While respondent provided the Court the latest issued orders in all but one
(Criminal Case No. 1385-M-2004) of the listed cases, she failed to justify her
failure to act on the incidents thereon despite the lapse of a considerable
period. Respondent offered no explanation for the delay in the resolution of the
incidents in the cases. She simply furnished their status, some of which involve
decisions or orders issued after the conduct of the judicial audit and
mostly beyond the prescribed 90-day period,[9] without her having requested
extension for the purpose. Notably, respondent failed to explain her inaction for
allowing a hiatus of at least one year in Civil Case No. 714-M-2002 and eight
months in Civil Case No. 195-M-2006, she appearing to have merely waited for
the submission of a comment on/opposition to a motion for reconsideration, and a
reply, if any.
Moreover, respecting the orders or decisions purportedly dated before July 31,
2007, the start of the judicial audit, respondent gave no reason why those issuances
were not presented or made available to the audit team during the four-day judicial
audit ending on August 3, 2007.
Judges are mandated to perform all judicial duties, including the delivery of
reserved decisions, efficiently, fairly and with reasonable promptness. [12] Prompt
disposition of the courts business is attained through proper and efficient court
management, and a judge is remiss in his duty as court manager if he fails to adopt
a system of record management.[13]
Respondent defied the duties to dispose of the courts business promptly and decide cases within the
required periods, to diligently discharge administrative responsibilities, maintain professional competence in court
management, and facilitate the performance of the administrative functions of other judges and court personnel, and
to organize and supervise the court personnel to ensure the prompt and efficient dispatch of business, and require at
[14]
all times the observance of high standards of public service and fidelity.
A judge being expected to keep his own record of cases so that he may act on them
promptly without undue delay, it is incumbent upon him to devise an efficient
recording and filing system in his court so that no disorderliness can affect the flow
of cases and their speedy disposition. Proper and efficient court management is as
much his responsibility.As the judge is the one directly responsible for the proper
discharge of official functions, he/she is charged with exercising extra care in
ensuring that the records of the cases and official documents in his/her custody are
intact. Hence, the necessity of adopting a system of record management and of
organization of dockets in order to bolster the prompt and efficient dispatch of
business.[15]
Oblivious to the telling condition res ipsa loquitor, respondent asserts that she
efficiently manages her court. If respondents declarations are, by any measure,
reflective of her level of satisfaction with court management, it is unfortunate to
find her standard of professional competence in court administration below par. It is
disquieting that she, even while acknowledging that she does not have a full complement of
court personnel,[16] has not been bothered by the prevailing human resource predicament in her court. She
finds comfort in maintaining a limited number of staff for years without actively seeking additional staff, and in
detailing her clerk-in-charge of civil cases and legal researcher to other offices for alleged misconduct without
initiating the appropriate disciplinary measures.
Indeed, a judges duties and responsibilities are not strictly confined to judicial
functions. A judge is also an administrator who must organize the court with a
view to prompt and convenient dispatch of its business.[22]
Section 9 of Rule 140 of the Rules of Court classifies as less serious offense the
undue delay in rendering a decision or order, which is punishable, under Section 11
(b) thereof, by suspension from office without salary and other benefits ranging
from one to three months, or a fine of more than P10,000 but not
exceeding P20,000.
III. The Clerk of Court, under the direct supervision of the Judge, must
comply with Rule 20 of the 1997 Rules of Civil Procedure regarding the
calendar of cases.
And Administrative Circular No. 1-99[24] enunciates that in inspiring public respect
for the justice system, court officials and employees must strictly observe official
time. As punctuality is a virtue, absenteeism and tardiness are impermissible.
As shown by the logbook maintained by the security personnel, respondent was absent for nine out of the 29
[25]
working days for the period from September 1, 2005 to October 11, 2005, and for eight out of the 24 working
[26]
days for the period from July 1, 2007 to August 2, 2007. In both periods, respondent usually arrived at
around 9:30 a.m. and mostly stayed for less than four hours in office. Such
documented evidence is,
however, insufficient to hold respondent liable for habitual tardiness and habitual
absenteeism. An employee shall be considered habitually tardy if one incurs
tardiness, regardless of the number of minutes, ten times a month for at least two
months in a semester or at least two consecutive months during the year, [27] while
one is considered habitually absent if one incurs unauthorized absences in excess
of the allowable 2.5 monthly leave credit under the Leave Law for at least three
months in a semester or at least three consecutive months during the year.[28]
Nonetheless, under Administrative Circular No. 2-99,[29] absenteeism and tardiness,
even if such do not qualify as "habitual" or "frequent," shall be dealt with severely.
[30]
In Office of the Court Administrator v. Go,[31] the Court enjoined all judges to
render at least eight hours of service just like any ordinary government employee.
Judges are duty bound to comply with the required working hours to
insure the maximum efficiency of the trial courts for a speedy
administration of justice. Daily trials at a minimum of five hours per
working day of the week will enable the judge to calendar as many cases
as possible and to dispose with regular dispatch the increasing number of
litigations pending with the court. All other matters needing the attention
of the judge are to be attended to outside of this five-hour schedule of
trial.
Judges are reminded that circulars prescribing hours of work are not just
empty pronouncements. They are there for the purpose of promoting
efficiency and speed in the administration of justice, and require prompt
and faithful compliance by all concerned. [32]
With respect to the OCAs finding that respondent obtained loans from court
personnel and lawyers in amounts ranging from P500 to P5,000, the Court takes
exception to the OCAs conclusion that such act attaches no administrative
liability. That the loans had already been paid or waived by the creditors do not
detract from the fact that certain prohibitions were violated. That the loans were
obtained way back in 1991-1992 is of no moment, considering that administrative
offenses do not prescribe.[36]
Under Section 8 of Rule 140 of the Rules of Court, it is a serious charge to borrow
money or property from lawyers and litigants in a case pending before the
court. Under the same provision, an act that violates the Code of Judicial Conduct
constitutes gross misconduct,[42] which is also a serious charge. In either instance, a
serious charge is punishable by: 1) dismissal from the service, forfeiture of all or
part of the benefits as the Court may determine, and disqualification from
reinstatement or appointment to any public office, including government-owned or
controlled corporations, provided, however, that the forfeiture of benefits shall in
no case include accrued leave credits; 2) suspension from office without salary and
other benefits for more than three but not exceeding six months; or 3) a fine of
more than P20,000 but not exceeding P40,000.[43]
Civil service rules[44] and jurisprudence[45] provide that when the respondent is
guilty of two or more charges, the penalty to be imposed shall be that
corresponding to the most serious charge, and the rest shall be considered
aggravating circumstances.
It bears noting that this is the third time that respondent has been haled to face an
administrative complaint. Although, in Portic v. Villalon-Pornillos,[46] the
complaint against respondent for abuse of authority and neglect of duty was
dismissed, respondent was meted a fine of P5,000 in Dela Cruz v. Villalon-
Pornillos[47] for failure to comply with Administrative Circular No. 20-95 with a
stern warning against repetition of similar acts.
Considering that respondent is not a first-time offender and taking into account
respondents less serious violations as aggravating circumstances, the Court
imposes the penalty of dismissal from service.
All those who don the judicial robe must always instill in their minds the
exhortation that the administration of justice is a mission. Judges, from the lowest
to the highest levels, are the gems in the vast government bureaucracy, beacon
lights looked upon as the embodiments of all what is right, just and proper, the
ultimate weapons against injustice and oppression.[48]
Those who cannot meet the exacting standards of judicial conduct and integrity
have no place in the judiciary. The various violations of respondent reflect a
totality of transgressions of one who no longer deserves a seat in the bench. This
Court will not withhold penalty when called for to uphold the peoples faith in the
judiciary.
SO ORDERED.