SECOND DIVISION
[A.M. No. 15-11-349-RTC. January 11, 2016.]
DROPPING FROM THE ROLLS OF MARY GRACE CADANO BOUCHARD, CLERK III, OFFICE OF THE CLERK OF COURT, REGIONAL TRIAL COURT, NARVACAN CITY, ILOCOS SUR
NOTICE
Sirs/Mesdames :
Please take notice that the Court, Second Division, issued a Resolution dated11 January 2016 which reads as follows:
"A.M. No. 15-11-349-RTC — (Dropping from the Rolls of Mary Grace Cadano Bouchard, Clerk III, Office of the Clerk of Court, Regional Trial Court, Narvacan City, Ilocos Sur)
The records of the Employees' Leave Division (ELD), Office of Administrative Services (OAS), Office of the Court Administrator (OCA), show that Mary Grace Cadano Bouchard (Bouchard) did not submit her Daily Time Records (DTRs) for September 2014 up to the present. Neither had she submitted any application for leave. Thus, she had been absent without official leave (AWOL) since September 1, 2014.
On October 13, 2014, the ELD, OAS, OCA received a letter, 1 dated September 17, 2014 from the Employees' Welfare and Benefits Division (EWBD) referring to Bouchard's letter, 2 dated July 28, 2014, regarding her intent to apply for early retirement effective September 1, 2014.
Verification from the EWBD, OAS, OCA disclosed that Bouchard filed a letter for early retirement but she did not file an application for retirement with the necessary supporting documents. According to the Personnel Division of the same office, she was still in active service. The records of the Docket and Clearance Division, Legal Office, OCA, on the other hand, reveal that there was no pending administrative case against her. Based on the records of the Court Management Office, OCA, she was not an accountable officer. The salaries and benefits of Bouchard had been withheld pursuant to Memorandum WSB No. 10c-2014 3 dated October 20, 2014.
OAS, OCA sent a letter, dated May 29, 2015, to Bouchard at her last known address on record directing her to submit her lacking DTRs, otherwise, the OCA would recommend that her name be dropped from the rolls for her continuous absence without approved leave. A copy of the said letter was also sent to her court station, coursed through Presiding Judge Sixto D. Diompoc.
To date, Bouchard has not reported for work.
OCA Recommendation
In its Report, 4 filed on November 10, 2015, the OCA recommended that Bouchard be dropped from the rolls, effective September 1, 2014, for having been on absence without official leave; that her position be declared vacant; and that she be informed of her separation from the service or dropping from the rolls at Bulanos, Narvacan City, Ilocos Sur, the last known address appearing in her 201 File. It added, however, that she would still be qualified to receive the benefits she was entitled to under the existing laws and to be reemployed in the government;
The Court's Ruling
The Court adopts the recommendation of the OCA.
Section 63, Rule XVI of the Omnibus Rules on Leave, as amended by Memorandum Circular No. 13 S. 2007, provides:
Effect of Absence Without Approved Official Leave — An official or an employee who is continuously absent without an approved leave for at least thirty (30) working days shall be considered on absence without official leave (AWOL) and shall be separated from the service or dropped from the rolls without prior notice. . . . aDSIHc
It is clear that Bouchard's prolonged unauthorized absence causes inefficiency in the public service. 5 It should be remembered that the conduct and behavior of all court personnel are circumscribed with a 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. 6
By going on AWOL, Bouchard grossly disregarded and neglected the duties of her office. She failed to adhere to the high standards of public accountability imposed on all those in the government service. 7
WHEREFORE, Mary Grace Cadano Bouchard, is hereby DROPPED from the service and her position is DECLARED VACANT.
Let a copy of this resolution be served upon her at her address appearing in her 201 file pursuant to Section 63, Rule XVI of the Omnibus Civil Service Rules and Regulations, as amended.
SO ORDERED."
Very truly yours,
MA. LOURDES C. PERFECTO
Division Clerk of Court
By:
(SGD.) TERESITA AQUINO TUAZONDeputy Division Clerk of Court
Footnotes
1. Rollo, p. 3.
2. Id. at 4.
3. Id. at 6.
4. Id. at 1-2.
5. Judge Florendo v. Cadano, 510 Phil. 230, 235 (2005).
6. Re: Absence Without Official Leave (AWOL) of Atty. Marilyn B. Joyas, Clerk of Court V, Regional Trial Court of Manila, Branch 16, 555 Phil. 737, 740 (2007).
7. 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).