EN BANC
RE:
INITIAL
REPORT ON THE FINANCIAL AUDITCONDUCTED
IN THE
MUNICIPAL TRIAL COURT OF PULILAN, BULACAN
A.M.
No.
01-11-291-MTC
July 7, 2004
R E S O L U T I O
N
PER CURIAM:
The auditing team that
conducted an on the spot audit examination and reconciliation of the
book
of accounts of the Municipal Trial Court of Pulilan, Bulacan on August
13-17, 2001 reported that:
1. Mr.
Tomas
E. Ocampo, Clerk of Court II, had shortages in his
collections
in the Judiciary Development Fund (JDF) amounting to P2,036.00
and
in the Clerk of Court General Fund (CCGF) amounting to P667.00;
and
2. Mr. Arturo S.
Batongbacal,
Clerk of Court II (successor of Mr. Tomas E. Ocampo), had
shortages
of P53,596.00 and P26,847.00 representing the Judiciary Development
Fund
(JDF) and Clerk of Court General Fund (CCGF), respectively.
As to the Clerk of
Court
Fiduciary Funds, Mr. Arturo S. Batongbacal failed to present the much
needed
records and documents to finalize the audit on this account from
January
1998 to present.
Former Clerk of Court
Tomas E. Ocampo, who had earlier resigned from the service by reason of
illness, complied with the aforesaid resolution by paying the shortages
in the JDF and CCGF amounting to P2,036.00 and P667.00,
respectively,
on March 13, 2002 as evidenced by Supreme Court O.R. No. 15739545 for
CCGF
and Supreme Court O.R. No. 15740417 for JDF. Upon the
recommendation
of the OCA, this administrative matter insofar as Ocampo is concerned
was
considered closed and terminated in the Resolution of December 9, 2002.cralaw:red
Based on the aforesaid
report of the auditing team and upon the recommendation of the OCA, the
Court issued a Resolution dated January 14, 2003 which is reproduced as
follows:chanrobles virtual law library
Administrative Matter
No. 01-11-291-MTC (Re: Initial Report on the Financial Audit conducted
in the Municipal Trial Court of Pulilan, Bulacan). – Acting on the
initial
report on the financial audit conducted in the Municipal Trial Court of
Pulilan, Bulacan, the Court resolves to:
(a)
DIRECT:
(1) Mr. Tomas E. Ocampo, former Clerk of Court, MTC, Pulilan, Bulacan,
to: REMIT/DEPOSIT within fifteen (15) days from notice, the
shortages
in their corresponding accounts on JDF and COC General Fund amounting
to
Two Thousand Thirty Six Pesos (P2,036.00) and Six Hundred Sixty Seven
Pesos
(P667.00), respectively, and to furnish the Fiscal Monitoring Division,
Court Management Office, Office of the Court Administrator, of such
remittance
advice/deposit slips;
(b) DIRECT
Mr.
Arturo S. Batongbacal, the present Clerk of Court, MTC, Pulilan,
Bulacan,
to: (1) RESTITUTE the shortages for the period July 2000
and
July 31, 2001 in the amount of Fifty Three thousand Five Hundred Ninety
Six Pesos (P53,596.00) for the JDF and Twenty Six Thousand Eight
Hundred
Forty Seven Pesos (P26,847.00) for COC General Fund; (2)
SUBMIT
within ten (10) days from notice the required documents as directed by
the Fiscal Monitoring Division, this Office, in its letter dated August
24, 2001, to finalize the audit of Fiduciary Fund; and (3) EXPLAIN
within
ten (10) days from notice why no administrative sanction shall be
imposed
upon him for his failure to: (aa) remit all collections for the
period
covering July 2000 to July 31, 2001 on JDF and COC General Fund; (bb)
record
daily transactions in the official cashbooks; (cc) submit monthly
reports
of collections and deposits/withdrawals to the Accounting Division of
the
Office of the Court Administrator; and (dd) follow the circulars issued
by the court in the manner of handling fiduciary funds; andchanrobles virtual law library
(c) DIRECT
Judge
Horacio T. Viola, Jr. to: (1) EXPLAIN within ten (10) days from
notice
why he: (aa) allowed the Process Server, Mr. Rolando Calleon to
be
his co-signatory in the bank transaction for Fiduciary Fund when it
should
be Mr. Arturo S. Batongbacal, being the appointed Clerk of Court which
is in violation of Circular No. 50-95; and (bb) did not report the
non-submisson
of Mr. Batongbacal of Monthly Report of Collections and
Deposits/Withdrawals
to the Accounting Division, Office of the Court Administrator; (2)
RELIEVE
Mr. Batongbacal as Accountable Officer and designate a competent staff
in his stead; and (3) MONITOR the accountable officer to safeguard the
judiciary funds; and
(d) DIRECT the
Financial
Management Office, to WITHHOLD the salaries and other allowance of Mr.
Arturo S. Batongbacal to cover possible shortages that may be found in
his Fiduciary Fund collections pending the outcome of the audit.
In compliance with said
Resolution, Batongbacal, on February 15, 2002, in his
letter-explanation,
related in detail his predicament as to why he failed to follow the
circulars
in the manner of handling judiciary funds which he attributed to
overwork
and lack of manpower. He likewise averred that there was no
formal
turnover effected by the former clerk of court and that there was no
efficient
recording system aggravated by the problem of termites and rodents
which
destroyed some documents filed in court.chanrobles virtual law library
As to the directive
for him to restitute the unremitted funds, he states:
I was order
(sic) to restitute the supposedly (sic) shortages, but to date and with
all honesty I am incapable of producing such amount, besides, as I have
stated in the preceding paragraph, granting even that what I have done
in the transferring of funds was technically a flaw, said cash that I
am
ordered to restitute are handed as re-imbursements I made to litigants
who have acknowledged receipt of such but was not withdrawn in the
deposited
Fiduciary funds of this court as they are part of the Fiduciary
funds.
In the course of the initial audit, and I have informed the court’s
auditor
that there are still some documents that I have not retrieved owing to
the construction being made then at the court. To date, some of
those
documents are retrieved and unearthed from the file in the temporary
storage
areas where it was (sic) deposited so as to effect the renovation of
the
court. With such documents, hopefully the records of the court’s
Judiciary Funds would be rectified, eventually freeing me of such
shortages.
That I have to resort to such and adapt (sic) such practice so that I
won’t
be keeping a lot of cash in my table as the court is not equipped with
a vault or protective storage for such amount. Incidentally, in
recognition
of said problem, construction of a vault is included in the
Second-phase
of the court’s construction. Too, (sic) in an effort to minimize
going to the Office of the Court Administrator, and spend one whole day
out of the office, I have tried to remit through bank transfer the
amount
of some P69,000.00 but later I could gleaned (sic) that said amount, as
it was not a duly supported by required documents, as it was made (sic)
ordered deposited by the COA Auditor on the day of the audit, was not
credited
to my record of remittances. With such development, I again have
to resort to what I think is the best given the premises. (Emphasis
supplied.)
Judge Viola submitted a
Letter-Explanation dated February 16, 2002 stating that he designated
Rolando
Caleon, the court’s process server, to be his co-signatory in the bank
transaction for fiduciary funds as replacement of former Clerk of Court
Ocampo who resigned by reason of disability. Allegedly,
Caleon
is the only staff with a vehicle needed in transporting the funds
safely
as the Land Bank of the Philippines is located at Baliuag, Bulacan a
neighboring
town around ten kilometers north and that Judge Viola was only informed
very much later that Batongbacal, the appointed Clerk of Court, should
be the undersigned’s co-signatory. Judge Viola immediately made
representations
with the Land Bank relieving Caleon and designating Batongbacal as his
replacement.
As to the monthly reports
regarding the court’s funds – collections, deposits and withdrawals,
Judge
Viola avers that all the while he knew his reports were up to date, but
for reasons only known to Batongbacal, said reports were not submitted
and the said non-submission came to his knowledge belatedly.cralaw:red
Judge Viola likewise
reported that he had complied with directive (c-2) of the resolution by
designating Remedios Roxas as accountable officer in place of
Batongbacal.chanrobles virtual law library
In a Resolution dated
November 17, 2003, this administrative matter was referred to the OCA
for
evaluation, report and recommendation.cralaw:red
In a Memorandum
dated March 30, 2004, the OCA recommended that Batongbacal be:
1.
SUSPENDED
pending resolution of this administrative matter, for his continuous
failure
to comply with the resolution dated January 14, 2002 which directed him
to:
a)
Restitute
the shortages amounting to FIFTY- THREE THOUSAND FIVE HUNDRED NINETY-
SIX
PESOS (P53,596.00) for JDF and TWENTY- SIX THOUSAND EIGHT HUNDRED
FORTY-
SEVEN PESOS (P26,847.00) for CCGF;
b) Submit
to the
Fiscal Monitoring Division and account the records of his collections
to
establish his accountabilities for Fiduciary Fund; and
2. DIRECTED to comply
with
the said resolution dated January 14, 2002 within twenty (20) days from
notice. The Court finds the explanation of Mr. Batongbacal to be
without merit.
The OCA did not delve
on
the explanation submitted by Judge Viola but referred to him as the
“late
Judge Horacio Viola.”
Suffice it to be stated
that as the judge of a single sala court, Judge Viola was expected to
be
familiar with the different circulars of the Court as his duty was not
confined to adjudicatory functions but includes the administrative
responsibility
of organizing and supervising the court personnel to secure a prompt
and
efficient dispatch of business.[1]
His designation of process server Caleon as his co-signatory in the
bank
transaction for the fiduciary fund and not Batongbacal as the appointed
clerk of court violates Circular 50-95 which explicitly provides that
the
executive judge and the clerk of court are the authorized
signatories
in the bank transaction, be it deposit or
withdrawal
of the fiduciary funds. Thus, his claim that he was
informed
very
much later that Batongbacal should be his co-signatory in the bank
transaction
regarding the fiduciary funds should have been subject to, at the very
least, administrative admonition.chanrobles virtual law library
However, this is no
longer possible as Judge Viola died on January 17, 2004 per
verification
from the Office of the Administrative Services of the OCA.cralaw:red
Anent the administrative
case against Batongbacal.cralaw:red
There is no doubt that
Batongbacal had been remiss in the performance of his duties as clerk
of
court with regard to financial concerns. He failed to remit his
funds
on time; he did not regularly submit his reports; and did not record
his
cash transactions in the cashbook. He explains that their court
is
a single sala court; that he is saddled by overwork and lack of
manpower
worsened by the lack of formal turnover of the records and documents
effected
by his predecessor and that he works with a workaholic judge so that he
is pre-occupied with the daily hearings and other court adjudicatory
concerns.cralaw:red
He also avers that he
is unable to restitute the unremitted funds because he used these funds
in reimbursing litigants of their cashbonds so he will not be keeping a
lot of cash in his table considering that the MTC of Pulilan, Bulacan,
then, had no vault or protective storage for such amount. This is
bolstered by the initial report of the Auditing Team, viz:chanrobles virtual law library
Mr.
Batongbacal
was not able to present to us the much needed records and documents to
finalize our audit on this account from January 1998 to present.
Although we examined the docket books and case folders hoping that we
can
establish the accountabilities of Mr. Batongbacal, it turned out that
the
same was insufficient. It was however noticed that Mr.
Batongbacal
has a faulty accounting practice by refunding cashbonds to various
litigants
the accumulated undeposited amount of collections for the Judiciary
Development
Fund, the Clerk of Court General Fund and the Fiduciary Fund.[2]
(Emphasis supplied.)
Further, Batongbacal
claims
that he had remitted P69,000.00 through “bank transfer” but was not
credited
in the record of the remittances.
Clerks of courts have
always been reminded of their duty to immediately deposit the various
funds
received by them to the authorized depository banks. The Court has
issued
several circulars regarding court funds. Administrative Circular
No. 31-90 issued on October 15, 1990, provides that the amounts
accruing
to the JDF should be deposited daily with the PNB. If
depositing
daily is not possible, deposits for the fund shall be every second and
third Fridays at the end of every month, provided, however, that
whenever collections for the Fund reach
P500.00,
the same shall be deposited immediately even before the
days
above indicated. SC Administrative
Circular
No. 5-93 was issued
on
April 30, 1993 designating the Land Bank of the
Philippines
(LBP) as the depository bank, in place of PNB, for all the
amounts
accruing to the Judiciary Development Fund under JDF-Supreme
Court-Manila
Savings Account No. 159-01163-1. These Circulars are mandatory in
nature designed to promote full accountability for government funds and
no protestation of good faith can override such mandatory nature.[3]
Batongbacal’s responsibility
of remitting the various court funds started from August 1, 1999.[4]
Therefore, he must be fully aware of these circulars for they are
already
extant when he assumed office. Neither can he proffer as an
excuse
overwork and lack of manpower or any other pretext. The moment he
accepted his appointment as clerk of court, it is presumed and assumed
that he likewise accepted the corresponding duties and responsibilities
attached to it. He should have developed an appropriate system so
that he can efficiently attend to his given tasks.chanrobles virtual law library
It was proper on the
part of the auditing team not to have credited his alleged remittance
of
P69,000.00 through “bank transfer” considering that he has not produced
any document like a bank certification confirming said
deposit
that would prove the same. He did not even mention the name of the
bank.
Moreover, all bank remittances should be done with the mandated
depository
bank, the LBP, as earlier discussed.cralaw:red
The Court in fact has
accorded leniency to Batongbacal. The OCA reports in their
Memorandum
dated March 30, 2004, that for over two years now, he failed to comply
with the Resolution of January 14, 2000 directing him to submit all
source
documents regarding the Fiduciary Funds in order for the auditing team
to find out Batongbacal’s accountability on this matter and to
restitute
the subject unremitted funds. And that for the same period of
time,
Batongbacal has not received his salaries and allowances pursuant to
the
directive to the Financial Management Office (FMO) to withhold them
in
the same Resolution of January 14, 2000. In fact, another
Resolution
was issued by the Third Division of this Court in A.M. No. 4-1-09-MTC[5]
ordering the FMO to withhold his salaries and other benefits for
failure
to submit his DTRs starting August of 2003. The Court is
absolutely
appalled on why he does not exert an effort to comply with the Court’s
directives.cralaw:red
Clerks of courts are
the chief administrative officers of their respective courts.
They
must show competence, honesty and probity since they are charged with
safeguarding
the integrity of the court and its proceedings. They are judicial
officers entrusted to perform delicate functions with regard to the
collection
of fees and are expected to correctly and effectively implement
regulations
such that even undue delay in the remittances of amounts collected by
them
at the very least constitutes misfeasance.[6]
They are the custodian of the
court’s
funds and revenues, records, property and premises.
Being
the custodian thereof, the clerks of court are liable for any loss,
shortage,
destruction or impairment of said funds and property.[7]chanrobles virtual law library
WHEREFORE, the Court
finds Clerk of Court II Arturo S. Batongbacal GUILTY of gross
dishonesty,
gross misconduct and malversation of public funds while in
office.
He is ordered DISMISSED from the service with forfeiture of his
withheld
salaries, the same to be applied to his accountabilities. He is
further
disqualified from re-employment in any branch of the government or in
any
government-owned or controlled corporations.cralaw:red
SO ORDERED.cralaw:red
Davide, C.J., Puno,
Vitug, Panganiban, Quisumbing, Ynares-Santiago, Sandoval-Gutierrez,
Carpio,
Austria-Martinez, Corona, Carpio-Morales, Callejo, Sr., Azcuna, and
Tinga,
JJ., concur.
____________________________
Endnotes:
[1]
Judge Alicia Gonzales-Decano vs. Judge Orlando Ana F. Siapno, 353 SCRA
269,275 (2001).chanrobles virtual law library
[2]
Memorandum dated October 11, 2001 submitted by the Auditing Team to DCA
Perez, re- Initial Report on the Financial Audit Conducted in the
MTC of Pulilan, Bulacan.
[3]
Office of Court Administrator vs. Fortaleza citing Re-
Report
on the Financial Audit in the RTC, General Santos City and the RTC
&
MTC of Polomok, South Cotobato, 385 SCRA 293, 303 (2002).
[4]
OCA Memorandum dated March 30, 2004, p. 2.chanrobles virtual law library
[5]
Rollo, p. 64.chanrobles virtual law library
[6]
Gutierrez vs. Quitalig, 400 SCRA 391,399 (2003).
[7]
Office of the Court Administrator vs. Fortaleza, supra. |