SECOND DIVISION
[A.M. No. 17-12-297-RTC. March 12, 2018.]
RE: DROPPING FROM THE ROLLS OF MS. RONA S. QUIROZ, COURT STENOGRAPHER III, OFFICE OF THE CLERK OF COURT, REGIONAL TRIAL COURT, MANILA
NOTICE
Sirs/Mesdames :
Please take notice that the Court, Second Division, issued a Resolution dated12 March 2018which reads as follows: SDHTEC
"A.M. No. 17-12-297-RTC (Re: Dropping from the Rolls of Ms. RONA S. QUIROZ, Court Stenographer III, Office of the Clerk of Court, Regional Trial Court, Manila). — This administrative matter concerns Rona S. Quiroz (Quiroz), Court Stenographer III, Office of the Clerk of Court (OCC), Regional Trial Court (RTC) of Manila.
The records of the Employees' Leave Division (ELD), Office of Administrative Services (OAS), Office of the Court Administrator (OCA), showed that Quiroz failed to submit her Daily Time Records (DTRs) from the month of April 2017 up to the present. Neither did she file application for leave. Thus, she has been on absence without official leave (AWOL) since April 3, 2017. 1
Per transmittal letter 2 dated June 9, 2017 signed by Atty. Jennifer H. Dela Cruz-Buendia, Clerk of Court VII of the OCC, RTC of Manila, Quiroz did not submit her DTR for the month of May 2017.
Quiroz's salaries and other benefits were withheld pursuant to Memorandum 3 dated June 28, 2017.
The OCA, on the basis of the records of its different offices, submitted the following findings: (a) Quiroz has not filed an application for retirement; (b) she is still in the plantilla of personnel, and thus, considered to be in active service; (c) no administrative case is pending against her; and (d) she is not an accountable officer. 4
OCA Recommendation
In its Report 5 dated November 23, 2017, the OCA recommended that: (a) Quiroz's name be dropped from the rolls effective April 3, 2017 for having been on AWOL; (b) her position be declared vacant; and (c) she be informed of her separation from service or dropping from the rolls at her last known address at 470 Tenement Building, Sta. Ana, Manila. The OCA, however, noted that she is still qualified to receive the benefits she may be entitled to under existing laws and may still be reemployed in the government. 6
Ruling of the Court
The Court agrees with the recommendation of the OCA.
Section 63 of Rule XVI of the Omnibus Rules on Leave, as amended by Memorandum Circular No. 13, Series of 2007, 7 states:
Section 63. Effect of absences without approved Leave. — An official or employee who is continuously absent without 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. x x x.
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, Quiroz should be separated from service or dropped from the rolls in view of her continued absence since April 3, 2017.
Prolonged unauthorized absence causes inefficiency in the public service. 8 A court employee's continued absence without leave disrupts the normal functions of the court. 9 It contravenes the public servant's duty to serve the public with the utmost degree of responsibility, integrity, loyalty, and efficiency. The conduct and behavior of everyone connected with an office charged with the dispensation of justice is circumscribed with the heavy burden of responsibility. 10 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. 11
Quiroz, by going on AWOL, grossly disregarded and neglected the duties of her office. She failed to adhere to the highest standards of public accountability imposed on those in government service. 12
WHEREFORE, Rona S. Quiroz, Court Stenographer III, Office of the Clerk of Court, Regional Trial Court, Manila, is hereby DROPPED from the rolls effective April 3, 2017 and her position is declared VACANT. She is, however, still qualified to receive the benefits she may be entitled to under existing laws and may still be reemployed in the government.
Let a copy of this Resolution be served upon Rona S. Quiroz at her address appearing in her 201 file pursuant to Rule XVI, Section 63 of the Omnibus Civil Service Rules and Regulations, as amended. AScHCD
SO ORDERED."
Very truly yours,
(SGD.) MA. LOURDES C. PERFECTODivision Clerk of Court
By:
TERESITA AQUINO TUAZONDeputy Division Clerk of Court
Footnotes
1.Rollo, p. 1.
2.Id. at 3-4.
3. Signed by OCA Chief of Office Caridad A. Pabello and approved by Court Administrator Jose Midas P. Marquez; id. at 5.
4.Id. at 6.
5. Signed by Court Administrator Jose Midas P. Marquez, Deputy Court Administrator Thelma C. Bahia and OCA Chief of Office Caridad A. Pabello; id. at 1-2.
6.Id. at 2.
7. Amending the Omnibus Civil Service Rules and Regulations, entitled "Re: Amendment to Section 63, Rule XVI of the Omnibus Rules on Leave, Civil Service Commission (CSC) Memorandum Circular Nos. 41 and 14, Series of 1998 and 1999, Respectively" (July 25, 2007).
8.Re: Dropping from the Rolls of Rowie A. Quimno, A.M. No. 17-03-33-MCTC, April 17, 2017.
9.Id.
10.Re: Absence without Official Leave of Mr. Faraon, 492 Phil. 160, 163 (2005).
11.Re: Absence without Official Leave Ms. Borja, 549 Phil. 533, 536 (2007).
12.Re: Absence without Official Leave of Mr. Borcillo, 559 Phil. 1, 4 (2007).