565 Phil. 321
CORONA, J.:
On March 1, 2006, respondent submitted a letter addressed to the Honorable Court Administrator, thru the undersigned, duly subscribed and sworn to before the Clerk of Court VI of the Court, alleging among others, the following:In this connection, Judge Abella made the following recommendation:1) She admitted that she is single/unmarried, and indeed she was pregnant and actually gave birth to a baby boy named Christian Jeon Radam on 03 November 2005 at the Western Pangasinan District Hospital, Alaminos City;Further investigation reveal[ed] the following:
2) The reason why she did not yet marry the father of her child Christian Jeon was that she and the child's father have pending application[s] [to migrate to Canada] as in fact they have [a] mutual plan to remain unmarried [and]
3) Nevertheless, she expressed her remorse and promised not to commit the same mistake and indiscretion in the future.1) That respondent was appointed as Utility Worker on September 4, 2000;
2) The father of Christian Jeon Radam is unknown, as shown by the child's Certificate of Live Birth, hereto attached;[5]
3) It was verbally admitted by the respondent that she had given birth to two (2) other children before Christian Jeon, but they were conceived and born while respondent was working abroad and before she was employed in the [Office of the Clerk of Court of the Regional Trial Court of] Alaminos City.[6]
Since respondent admitted that she is single and that she got pregnant and gave birth to a baby boy without being married to the father of the child, albeit she advanced the reason for her remaining unmarried, it being that she and her boyfriend had a mutual plan to migrate to Canada, this Investigating Judge considers that such conduct of the respondent fell short of the strict standards of Court personnel and contrary to the Code of Judicial Ethics and the Civil Service Rules. A place in the judiciary demands upright men and women who must carry on with dignity, hence respondent is guilty of disgraceful and immoral conduct which cannot be countenanced by the Court. Certainly, the image of the Judiciary has been affected by such conduct of the respondent.After reviewing the findings and recommendation of Judge Abella, the Office of the Court Administrator (OCA) recommended that, in accordance with Villanueva v. Milan,[8] respondent be absolved of the charge of immorality because her alleged misconduct (that is, giving birth out of wedlock) did not affect the character and nature of her position as a utility worker.[9] It observed:
Premises considered, it is hereby respectfully recommended that respondent MA. VICTORIA RADAM be accordingly found GUILTY of IMMORAL CONDUCT or ACT UNBECOMING A COURT EMPLOYEE. A suspension of one (1) month or a fine of Php5,000.00 is respectfully recommended, with warning that a repetition of the same or similar act in the future will be dealt with more severely.[7]
[T]here is no indication that the relationship of respondent to her alleged boyfriend has caused prejudice to any person or has adversely affected the performance of her function as utility worker to the detriment of the public service.However, it proposed that she be held liable for conduct unbecoming a court employee and imposed a fine of P5,000 for stating in the birth certificate of her child Christian Jeon that the father was "unknown" to her.[10]
(1) | if the father of the child is himself unmarried, the woman is not ordinarily administratively liable for disgraceful and immoral conduct.[18] It may be a not-so-ideal situation and may cause complications for both mother and child but it does not give cause for administrative sanction. There is no law which penalizes an unmarried mother under those circumstances by reason of her sexual conduct or proscribes the consensual sexual activity between two unmarried persons. Neither does the situation contravene any fundamental state policy as expressed in the Constitution, a document that accommodates various belief systems irrespective of dogmatic origins.[19] |
(2) | if the father of the child born out of wedlock is himself married to a woman other than the mother, then there is a cause for administrative sanction against either the father or the mother.[20] In such a case, the "disgraceful and immoral conduct" consists of having extramarital relations with a married person.[21] The sanctity of marriage is constitutionally recognized[22] and likewise affirmed by our statutes as a special contract of permanent union.[23] Accordingly, judicial employees have been sanctioned for their dalliances with married persons or for their own betrayals of the marital vow of fidelity. |
An employee must be informed of the charges proferred against him, and ... the normal way by which the employee is so informed is by furnishing him with a copy of the charges against him. This is a basic procedural requirement that ... cannot [be] dispense[d] with and still remain consistent with the constitutional provision on due process. The second minimum requirement is that the employee charged with some misfeasance or malfeasance must have a reasonable opportunity to present his side of the matter, that is to say, his defenses against the charges levelled against him and to present evidence in support of his defense(s).[25]One's employment is not merely a specie of property rights. It is also the means by which he and those who depend on him live.[26] It is therefore protected by the guarantee of security of tenure. And in the civil service, this means that no government employee may be removed, suspended or disciplined unless for cause provided by law[27] and after due process. Unless the constitutional guarantee of due process is a mere platitude, it is the Court's duty to insist on its observance in all cases involving a deprivation, denigration or dilution of one's right to life, liberty and property.