SECOND DIVISION
[A.M. No. 22-04-46-RTC. July 4, 2022.]
RE: DROPPING FROM THE ROLLS OF MARTHIN DANDELL NOVILLA, UTILITY WORKER I, BRANCH 9, REGIONAL TRIAL COURT, TACLOBAN CITY, LEYTE
NOTICE
Sirs/Mesdames :
Please take notice that the Court, Second Division, issued a Resolution datedJuly 4, 2022which reads as follows:
"A.M. No. 22-04-46-RTC (Re: Dropping from the Rolls of Marthin Dandell Novilla, Utility Worker I, Branch 9, Regional Trial Court, Tacloban City, Leyte). — Before the Court is an administrative matter against Marthin Dandell Novilla, Utility Worker I, Branch 9, Regional Trial Court (RTC), Tacloban City, Leyte.
Per the February 4, 2021 transmittal letter of Atty. Edsyl N. Ojeda-Galosmo (Atty. Ojeda-Galosmo), Branch Clerk of Court of Branch 9, RTC, Tacloban City, Novilla had not been submitting his Daily Time Records. In the same letter, it was mentioned that Novilla had not been reporting for work since August 17, 2020, and that he did not file an application for leave. Atty. Ojeda-Galosmo further stated that Novilla's prolonged absence has already affected their office operations. Thus, Novilla should be considered absent without official leave (AWOL) and be dropped from the rolls. It was likewise requested Novilla's position, Utility Worker I, be declared vacant. 1
In the Office of the Court Administrator's (OCA) report dated December 10, 2021, it was found that:
The records of the Employees' Leave Division (ELD), Office of the Administrative Services (OAS), Office of the Court Administrator (OCA), show that Marthin Dandell Novilla, Court Utility Worker I, Branch 9, Regional Trial Court (RTC), Tacloban City, Leyte, has not submitted his Daily Time Records (DTRs) for the month of August 2020 up to the present, and he has also failed to submit any application for leave. Thus, per records of the ELD, OAS, OCA, he had been absent without official leave (AWOL) since August 3, 2020.
xxx xxx xxx
OTHER RELEVANT INFORMATION: The salaries and benefits of Mr. Novilla were withheld pursuant to Memorandum WSB No. 12A-2020 dated December 7, 2020 x x x.
Verification from the RTC Personnel Division, OAS, OCA, shows that Mr. Novilla is in the plantilla of personnel and is therefore considered in active service. The Employees' Welfare and Benefits Division (EWBD), OAS, OCA, also informed that Mr. Novilla has not filed an application for retirement. The Judicial Integrity Board disclosed that there is a pending administrative case against Mr. Novilla, docketed as A.M. No. 20-09-142-RTC, for pilferage of drug evidence, while the records of the Fiscal Monitoring Division, Court Management Office, OCA, show that he is not an accountable officer x x x. 2 CAIHTE
Thus, the OCA made the following recommendation:
(1) [T]he name of MARTHIN DANDELL NOVILLA, Utility Worker I, Branch 9, Regional Trial Court, Tacloban City, Leyte, be DROPPED FROM THE ROLLS effective August 3, 2020 for having been continuously absent without official leave (AWOL) for at least thirty (30) working days pursuant to Section 107 (a-1), Rule 20 of the 2017 Rules on Administrative Cases in the Civil Service, without prejudice to the outcome of A.M. No. 20-09-142-RTC. However, he is still qualified to receive the benefits he may be entitled to under existing laws, and he may still be re-employed in the government;
(2) his position be declared VACANT; and
(3) he be INFORMED of his separation from the service or dropping from the rolls at the last known address appearing in his 201 file, that is, at Barangay San Vicente, Alangalang, Leyte. 3
The Court agrees with the OCA's recommendation.
Under item 1, paragraph a, 4 Section 107, 5 Rule 20 6 of the 2017 Rules on Administrative Cases in the Civil Service, an official or employee who is continuously absent without official leave for at least thirty (30) working days may be dropped from the rolls without prior notice, which shall take effect immediately. 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 disqualification from reemployment in the government. 7
In this case, Novilla's continuous absence without approved leave for more than thirty (30) working days warrants dropping him from the rolls. The prolonged unauthorized absence of Novilla causes inefficiency in the public service.
It should be remembered that the conduct and behavior of all court personnel are circumscribed with heavy responsibility. 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 tend to diminish the faith of the people in the Judiciary, cannot be countenanced. By going on AWOL, Novilla disregarded and neglected the duties of his office. He failed to adhere to the high standards of public accountability imposed on all those in the government service. 8
No less than the Constitution has pronounced that a public office is a public trust. Public officers must, at all times, be accountable to the people and serve them with utmost degree of responsibility, integrity, loyalty, and efficiency. 9
FOR THESE REASONS, MARTHIN DANDELL NOVILLA, Utility Worker I, Regional Trial Court, Branch 9, Tacloban City, Leyte, is DROPPED from the rolls effective August 3, 2020 and his position is DECLARED VACANT.
SO ORDERED."
By authority of the Court:
(SGD.) TERESITA AQUINO TUAZONDivision Clerk of Court
Footnotes
1. Rollo, pp. 3-4.
2. Id. at 1.
3. Id. at 2.
4. Absence without Approved Leave.
5. Grounds and Procedure for Dropping from the Rolls.
6. Dropping from the Rolls.
7. Section 110, Rule 20, RACCS.
8. Re: Salome A. Montezon, A.M. No. 19-06-154-RTC (Notice), July 30, 2019; Re: Ronie B. Sumampong, A.M. No. 16-05-157-RTC (Notice), June 27, 2016; Re: Regie S. De Guzman, A.M. No. 16-04-87-RTC (Notice), June 20, 2016.
9. Dropping from the Rolls of Caoibes, A.M. No. 14-3-45-RTC (Notice), June 2, 2014.