Professional Documents
Culture Documents
This administrative matter arose from two (2) anonymous letters, one dated April
21, 1994 addressed to Judge Federico A. Llanes, MTCC, Branch I, Laoag City and the
other dated April 27, 1994 addressed to Judge Manuel B. Fernandez, Jr., RTC, Branch
13, Laoag City, charging Bienvenido Arzaga and Alfredo Mauricio, both process
servers of the Oce of the Clerk of Court, MTCC, Laoag City, with inuence
peddling, drunkenness, gambling, bribery, extortion and manipulation of bonds by
using the same property for different cases.
On June 22, 1994, Judge Llanes forwarded the said letters, together with
the respondents' comments, to the Office of the Court Administrator.
In a resolution dated September 19, 1994, this Court referred the matter to
Executive Judge Wenceslao Agnir, RTC, Laoag City, for investigation, report and
recommendation.
In his investigation report dated December 16, 1994, Judge Agnir stated,
among others, that both respondents had submitted their written comments
denying the charges; that upon receipt of the complaint, he requested the local
media to announce to the public that anyone who had evidence against the two
respondents could see him; that however, after two months of waiting, nobody
came forward to oer any evidence against respondents; that he also
interviewed the employees of the City Court to verify the truth of the charges
against the respondents, but he obtained no information to give credence to said
charges.
Judge Agnir, however, reported that he received a certication from the
City Prosecutor's Oce of Laoag City, to the eect that Alfredo Mauricio was
convicted of Frustrated Murder on September 29, 1983 in Criminal Case No.
1260-XIII, but was placed on probation. Alfredo Mauricio had also been charged
with eleven (11) other criminal cases like Illegal Possession of Firearms, Grave
Slander by Deed, Grave Threats, Serious Physical Injuries, but all of these had
been dismissed.
Judge Agnir made no denite recommendation in his report, except to say
that he was leaving it to the Court Administrator to determine whether on the
basis of "such a criminal record, Alfredo 'Boy' Mauricio deserves to stay in the
service of the Judiciary."
On February 1, 1995, this Court referred the Investigation Report of Judge
Agnir to the Oce of the Court Administrator for evaluation, report and
recommendation. Accordingly, the Oce of the Court Administrator submitted a
memorandum to this Court recommending that the charges against the two
respondents be dismissed for lack of merit.
After a careful examination of the recommendation of the Oce of the
Court Administrator, this Court on May 29, 1995, resolved to dismiss the charges
against Benjamin Arzaga as recommended but referred the case against Alfredo
Mauricio to Judge Agnir for further investigation relative to how said respondent
managed to be appointed to the position of process server despite a previous
record of conviction of the crime of frustrated murder. Judge Agnir was likewise
directed to conduct an inquiry on whether said respondent made untruthful
statements in his application by suppressing the fact of his conviction as well as
It was also discovered that on 24 January 1990 Atty. Carino sent a telegram
to Mauricio ordering him to submit a copy of the Order placing him on
probation pending the approval of his appointment as Utility Worker I.
Accordingly respondent sent a copy of the said Order and in his 1st
indorsement dated 22 February 1990, Atty. Carino referred the Probation
Order to Atty. Ponciano R. Solosa, Assistant Director of the Civil Service
Commission Field Office for appropriate action.
Per Court Resolution dated 4 October 1990 respondent was appointed as
Utility Worker I and was promoted as Process Server by virtue of a Court
Resolution of 5 May 1992.
On 19 January 1993 Police Inspector Felizardo Ellano of the PNP-CIS
Command in Camp Capt. Valentin San Juan, Laoag City, sent a letter
addressed to the Chief Justice through the Record Section requesting that a
check be conducted on the records of Mauricio who was at that time being
charged by their Oce with the crimes of Less Serious Physical Injuries and
Resistance and Disobedience Upon Agents of a Person in Authority. Police
Ocer Ellano likewise informed the Court that the respondent has already
been charged of several oenses in dierent courts in Laoag City which
according to him was a clear showing that Mauricio is a violent man, a
habitual offender and extremely defiant of the law.
Records show that the respondent twice accomplished Personal Data Sheet
(Civil Service Commission Form 212, Revised 1982) on two (2) separate
Time and again, this Court has emphasized that the conduct required of
court personnel, from the presiding judge to the lowliest clerk, must always be
beyond reproach and must be circumscribed with the heavy burden of
responsibility as to let them be free from any suspicion that may taint the
judiciary.
ACCORDINGLY, respondent ALFREDO MAURICIO is hereby DISMISSED from
the service with forfeiture of all benets and with prejudice to his reemployment
in any branch of the Government, including government-owned or controlled
corporations.
SO ORDERED.
Footnotes
1.
Rollo, p. 52.
2.
Id., al 52-53.
3.
4.
Gano v. Leonen , 232 SCRA 98, 101 [1994]; Paredes v. Padua , 222 SCRA 81, 84
[1993].
5.
6.
7.
Chavez v. Lescano, 139 SCRA 103 [1985]; Recto v. Racelis , 70 SCRA 438 [1976].