CASE DIGEST
Brasales v. Borja
A.M. No. P-21-024,
[June 16, 2021]
SECOND, LOPEZ, M.V
SC Power of
Discipline and Supervision over all court personnel;
Rule 140 of the Rules is applied in
disciplining court personnel who are not judges or justices since it is the
prevailing legal framework. The exception is when its application will be prejudicial,
or will work injustice to the court employee, i.e., the gravity of the offense
will be increased, or a higher penalty for violation will be imposed. In such
instance, the civil service rules, which is the framework of rules prevailing
at the time of the commission of the offense, will apply.
Maxima Z. Borja, Clerk of Court IV,
faced charges of Abuse of Authority and Malfeasance issued by Judge Marlo C.
Brasales for allegedly approving the leave of absence applications of Court
Stenographer II Rachel N. Dadivas without proper authority, contrary to verbal
instructions and court regulations. Borja's defense cited the overwhelming
workload of her position, leading to occasional forgetfulness regarding the
prescribed protocols.
Whether or not Maxima is guilty of
violation of reasonable office rules and regulations.
YES.
Maxima was found guilty of violating reasonable office rules and regulations,
specifically A.C. No. 08-2017, which mandates that the clerk of court may only
approve leave of absence applications for lower court personnel with prior
written authorization from the presiding judge. Despite lacking authorization
from Judge Brasales, Maxima approved Rachel's leave applications, offering her
workload as an excuse. The Office of the Court Administrator (OCA) correctly
determined Maxima's breach of office rules and regulations. However, regarding
the penalty, the retroactive application of Rule 140 of the Rules of Court was
deemed prejudicial to Maxima. While Rule 140 prescribes suspension for
violations of Supreme Court (SC) rules, directives, and circulars, the 2011
Revised Rules on Administrative Cases in the Civil Service (RRACCS) categorizes
Maxima's offense as a light offense punishable by reprimand for the first
offense. In such instance, the civil service rules, which is the framework of
rules prevailing at the time of the commission of the offense, will apply. Consequently,
the reprimand was the appropriate penalty for Maxima's transgression of A.C.
No. 08-2017.
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