Professional Documents
Culture Documents
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* THIRD DIVISION.
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rari with the CA did not divest the PAGC of its jurisdiction
validly acquired over the case before it. Elementary is the rule
that the mere pendency of a special civil action for certiorari,
commenced in relation to a case pending before a lower court or
an administrative body such as the PAGC, does not interrupt the
course of the latter where there is no writ of injunction
restraining it. For as long as no writ of injunction or restraining
order is issued in the special civil action for certiorari, no
impediment exists, and nothing prevents the PAGC from
exercising its jurisdiction and proceeding with the case pending
before its office. And even if such injunctive writ or order is
issued, the PAGC continues to retain jurisdiction over the
principal action until the question on jurisdiction is finally
determined.
Same; Same; Same; Due Process; Presumption of Regularity;
Mere surmises and conjectures, absent any proof whatsoever, will
not tilt the balance against the presumption of regularity, if only to
provide constancy in the official acts of authorized government
personnel and officials; The essence of due process in
administrative proceedings is an opportunity to explain one’s side
or an opportunity to seek reconsideration of the action or ruling
complained of.—First, it must be remembered that the PAGC’s
act of issuing the assailed resolution enjoys the presumption of
regularity particularly since it was done in the performance of its
official duties. Mere surmises and conjectures, absent any proof
whatsoever, will not tilt the balance against the presumption, if
only to provide constancy in the official acts of authorized
government personnel and officials. Simply put, the timing of the
issuance of the assailed PAGC resolution by itself cannot be used
to discredit, much less nullify, what appears on its face to be a
regular performance of the PAGC’s duties. Second, Montemayor’s
argument, as well as the CA’s observation that respondent was
not afforded a “second” opportunity to present controverting
evidence, does not hold water. The essence of due process in
administrative proceedings is an opportunity to explain one’s side
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4 Id., at p. 69.
5 CA Rollo, pp. 73-74.
6 Id., at pp. 70-72.
7 Id.
8 Rollo, p. 71.
9 Section 7 of RA No. 3019, otherwise known as the Anti-Graft and
Corrupt Practices Act, provides in full:
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capacity, laborers and casual or temporary workers, shall file under oath
their Statement of Assets, Liabilities and Net Worth and a Disclosure of
Business Interests and Financial Connections and those of their spouses
and unmarried children under eighteen (18) years of age living in their
households.
x x x x
All public officials and employees required under this section to file the
aforestated documents shall also execute within thirty (30) days from the
date of their assumption of office, the necessary authority in favor of the
Ombudsman, to obtain from all appropriate government agencies,
including the Bureau of Internal Revenue, such documents as may show
their liabilities, net worth, and also
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18 Rollo, p. 90.
19 CA Rollo, pp. 35-45.
20 Docketed as G.R. No. 160443. The said petition for review on
certiorari was eventually dismissed through a minute Resolution dated
January 26, 2004. See Rollo, p. 170.
21 Rollo, pp. 92-93.
22 CA Rollo, pp. 4-26.
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23 Section 4 (c) of EO No. 12, series of 2001, entitled “Creating the
Presidential Anti-Graft Commission and Providing for its Powers, Duties
and Functions and for Other Purposes,” provides:
SECTION 4. Jurisdiction, Powers and Functions.—
x x x x
(c) Anonymous complaints against a presidential appointee shall not
be given due course unless there appears on its face or the supporting
documents attached to the anonymous complaint a probable cause to
engender a belief that the allegations may be true.
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27 Santiago v. Vasquez, G.R. Nos. 99289-90, January 27, 1993, 217
SCRA 633, 647.
28 Id., at pp. 647-648.
29 Id., at p. 648.
30 Rollo, p. 62.
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DISSENTING OPINION
BERSAMIN, J.:
I vote to deny the petition.
Firstly, I believe that the Court of Appeals (CA) correctly
held that the petitioner had not been afforded his right to
due process.
And, secondly, assuming that the investigation of the
respondent by the Presidential Anti-Graft Commission
(PAGC) was sustainable, and that the Office of the
President (OP) validly relied on PAGC’s findings and
recommendation, the penalty of dismissal was too harsh
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Antecedents
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Submissions
A.
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19 DOH v. Camposano, G.R. No. 157684, April 27, 2005, 457 SCRA 438, 454.
20 Rollo, pp. 65-66.
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not include and declare the 2001 Ford Expedition in his 2002
SSAL. Apparently, petitioner already conveyed and transferred
the ownership over the 2001 Ford Expedition in favor of a certain
Raymundo Ramon P. Lacson on the strength of a duly notarized
Deed of Sale of Motor Vehicle executed on December 15, 2002
(Rollo p. 39). Perforce, while it may have been true that petitioner
still remains as the registered owner of the 2001 Ford Expedition,
this supposed ownership extends only in so far as LTO
registration and recording purposes are concerned, but strictly
and legally speaking, real and actual ownership over the subject
automobile has already been completely divested and effectively
transferred from petitioner to Raymundo Ramon P. Lacson. In the
case of Aguilar, Sr. vs. Commercial Savings Bank (360 SCRA
395), the High Court pronounced, in essence, that automobile
registration is required not to make said registration the
operative act to determine the identity of the person to whom the
ownership over the subject automobile is actually transferred and
vested. Unlike in land registration cases, the administrative
proceeding of registration does not bear any essential relation to
the contract of sale between the parties (Chinchilla v. Rafael &
Verdague, 39 Phil. 888). The main aim of motor vehicle
registration is merely to identify the registered owner so
that if any accident happens, or that any damage or injury
is caused by the vehicle on the public highways,
responsibility therefore can be fixed on a definite and
specific individual, that is, the registered owner. Bringing
this instructive doctrine to the fore, it is clear that while
petitioner is still the owner of the 2001 Ford Expedition
per LTO registration, the contrary is true as far as the
actual facts are concerned, for the real owner of the said
automobile since December 15, 2002 is already Raymundo
Ramon P. Lacson. Simply put, petitioner not being the
owner of the 2001 Ford Expedition anymore as early as
December 15, 2002, there is no longer any legal necessity
or obligation for him to include and declare the said
automobile in his 2002 SSAL, which covers only those
properties actually owned by petitioner as of December 31,
2002.”
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B.
Penalty of dismissal was too harsh
The OP dismissed the respondent for his failure to
declare some vehicles in his 2001 and 2002 SSAL, viz:
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22 Rollo, p. 90.
23 An Act Establishing A Code Of Conduct And Ethical Standards For Public
Officials And Employees, To Uphold The Time-Honored Principle Of Public Office
Being A Public Trust, Granting Incentives And Rewards For Exemplary Service,
Enumerating Prohibited Acts And Transactions And Providing Penalties For
Violations Thereof, And For Other Purposes.
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2nd offense—Dismissal.
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“We stress that the law does not tolerate misconduct by a civil
servant. Public service is a public trust, and whoever breaks that
trust is subject to sanction. Dismissal and forfeiture of
benefits, however, are not penalties imposed for all
infractions, particularly when it is a first offense. There
must be substantial evidence that grave misconduct or
some other grave offense meriting dismissal under the law
was committed.”
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24 HSBC v. NLRC, G.R. No. 116542, July 30, 1996, 260 SCRA 49, 56.
25 Manila Memorial Park Cemetery, Inc. v. Delia V. Panado, G.R. No.
154521, September 30, 2005, 471 SCRA 589.
26 G.R. No. 154521, September 30, 2005, 471 SCRA 589, 611.
27 A.M. No. RTJ-00-1562, November 23, 2001, 370 SCRA 423.
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his failure to file on time his SSAL and his non-filing of his
SSAL in some years. In imposing the penalty against him,
the Court gave due consideration to his service in the
Judiciary and to the fact that he later filed his SSAL, and
suspended him for six months without pay but ordered him
to pay a fine of P20,000.00, with a stern warning that a
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