THIRD DIVISION
[A.M. No. 18-07-120-RTC. July 29, 2019.]
RE: DROPPING FROM THE ROLLS OF MR. HERODINE M. CAPATI, PROCESS SERVER, BRANCH 48, REGIONAL TRIAL COURT, CITY OF SAN FERNANDO, PAMPANGA
NOTICE
Sirs/Mesdames :
Please take notice that the Court, Third Division, issued a Resolution datedJuly 29, 2019, which reads as follows:
"A.M. No. 18-07-120-RTC (Re: Dropping from the Rolls of Mr. Herodine M. Capati, Process Server, Branch 48, Regional Trial Court, City of San Fernando, Pampanga). — The instant administrative matter relates to the Memorandum 1 dated June 20, 2018 of the Office of the Court Administrator (OCA) concerning Herodine M. Capati, Process Server, Branch 48, Regional Trial Court, City of San Fernando, Pampanga.
Records of the Employees' Leave Division, Office of the Administrative Services (OAS), OCA, disclose that Capati has failed to file his Daily Time Records from October 2017 up to present. Neither has he submitted any application for leave. As of OCA's submission of its Memorandum, Capati has neither reported back to work nor submitted any duly approved application for leave of his absence. HTcADC
Upon verification from the Employees' Welfare and Benefits Division, OAS, OCA, it was also revealed that Capati has not filed an application for retirement. Thus, Capati appeared to be still in the plantilla of court personnel and is, therefore, considered to be in active service. Likewise, no previous administrative complaint has been filed against him. Further, records of the Fiscal Monitoring Division, Court Management, Office, OCA, confirmed that Capati is not an accountable officer.
Meanwhile, Capati's salaries and other benefits were already withheld pursuant to Memorandum WSB No. 1a_2018 dated January 10, 2018.
In its Report, the OCA stated that under Section 110, Rule 20 of the 2017 Rules on Administrative Cases in the Civil Service (RACCS), dropping from the rolls as a mode of separation from the service is non-disciplinary in nature and shall not result in the forfeiture of any benefit on the part of the official or employee, or in his disqualification from reemployment in the government. Thus, the OCA recommended that: (1) Capati be dropped from the rolls effective October 1, 2017 for having been on absence without official leave (AWOL) albeit he is still qualified to receive the benefits which he may be entitled to and may still be reemployed in the government; (2) Capati's position be declared vacant; and (3) he be informed of his separation from the service or dropping from the rolls at his last known address on record at Villa Barosa I, San Fernando City, Pampanga.
The OCA's recommendation is well-taken.
Every so often, it has been declared that any act which falls short of the exacting standards for public office, especially on the part of those expected to preserve the image of the judiciary, shall not be countenanced. Indeed, a public office is a public trust. Public officers must at all times be accountable to the people, serve them with the utmost degree of responsibility, integrity, loyalty, and efficiency. 2
Section 107 (a-1), Rule 20 of the 2017 Rules on Administrative Cases in the Civil Service (RACCS), 3 provides:
Section 107. Grounds and Procedure for Dropping from the Rolls. — Officers and employees who are absent without approved leave, have unsatisfactory performance or poor performance, or have shown to be physically or mentally unfit to perform their duties may be dropped from the rolls within thirty (30) days from the time a ground therefor arises subject to the following procedures:
a. Absence without Approved Leave
1. An official or employee who is continuously absent without official leave (AWOL) for at least thirty (30) working days may be dropped from the rolls without prior notice which shall take effect immediately. CAIHTE
He/she shall, however, have the right to appeal his/her separation within fifteen (15) days from receipt of the notice of separation which must be sent to his/her last known address.
xxx xxx xxx. 4
The above provision does not require prior notice to drop from the rolls the name of the employee who has been continuously absent without approved leave for at least 30 days. Hence, Capati should be separated from the service or dropped from the rolls, in view of his continued absence since October 1, 2017.
Prolonged unauthorized absence causes inefficiency in the public service. 5 A court employee's continued absence without leave disrupts the normal functions of the court. 6 It contravenes the public servant's duty to serve the public with the utmost degree of responsibility, integrity, loyalty, and efficiency.
By going on AWOL, Capati grossly disregarded and neglected the duties of his office. He failed to adhere to the highest standards of public accountability imposed on those in government service. 7
The Court also notes that separation from the service for unauthorized absences is non-disciplinary in nature in accordance with Section 110, Rule 20 of the 2017 RACCS, to wit:
Section 110. Dropping from the Rolls; Non-disciplinary in Nature. — This mode of separation from the service for unauthorized absences or unsatisfactory or poor performance or physical or mental disorder is non-disciplinary in nature and shall not result in the forfeiture of any benefit on the part of the official or employee or in disqualification from reemployment in the government. 8
Thus, the Court agrees with the recommendation of the OCA that Capati is still qualified to receive the benefits he may be entitled to under existing laws and may still be reemployed in the government.
The Court has also repeatedly held that the conduct and behavior of everyone connected with an office charged with the dispensation of justice is circumscribed with the heavy burden of responsibility. The Court cannot countenance any act or omission on the part of all those involved in the administration of justice which would violate the norm of public accountability and diminish or even just tend to diminish the faith of the people in the Judiciary. 9
WHEREFORE, Mr. Herodine M. Capati, Process Server, Regional Trial Court of San Fernando City, Pampanga, Branch 48, is hereby DROPPED from the rolls effective October 1, 2017 and his position is declared VACANT. He is, however, still qualified to receive the benefits he may be entitled to under existing laws and may still be reemployed in the government. aScITE
Let a copy of this Resolution be served upon Mr. Herodine M. Capati at Villa Barosa I, San Fernando City, Pampanga, the last known address appearing on his 201 file.
SO ORDERED."
Very truly yours,
(SGD.) WILFREDO V. LAPITANDivision Clerk of Court
Footnotes
1.Rollo, pp. 1-2.
2.Re: Dropping from the Rolls of Cornelio Reniette Cabrera, Utility Worker I, Municipal Trial Court in Cities, Branch 1, Lipa City, 669 Phil. 142, 146 (2011).
3. Promulgated by the Civil Service Commission through Resolution No. 1701077 dated July 3, 2017.
4. Emphasis ours.
5.Re: Dropping from the Rolls of Rowie A. Quimno, Utility Worker I, Municipal Trial Court in Cities, of Ipil-Tungawan, Roseller T. Lim, Ipil. Zamboanga Sibugay, 808 Phil. 557, 560 (2017).
6.Id.
7.Re: Dropping from the Rolls of Noel C. Lindo, Sheriff IV, Branch 83, Regional Trial Court, Quezon City, A.M. No. 18-07-131-RTC, September 3, 2018.
8. Underscoring ours.
9.Re: Absence Without Leave (AWOL) of Ms. Fernandita B. Borja, 549 Phil. 533, 536 (2007).