705 Phil. 8
CARPIO, J.:
I am writing directly to you because I need your advice as to what steps should I undertake to address the problem of our sala. This is in relation to the court exhibits and to the properties issued in [sic] our sala.
I assumed my duties as Clerk of Court V of the Regional Trial Court, Branch 4, Panabo City only on 16 February 2009. I made an inventory as to the only exhibits and property bonds (titles) existing at the time I assumed my duties as Clerk of Court. I found these exhibits and property bonds (titles) inside the four steel cabinets at [sic] our stockroom. I also conducted physical inventory on [sic] the properties issued by the Supreme Court based on the 9-page Acknowledgment Receipt sent by Ms. Herminia B. Advincula (Chief, Records Section, Property Division, OCA). After inventory, I discovered that there were missing exhibits and properties. I reported the matter to the presiding judge and I sent a letter-reply together with the list of the missing and unserviceable properties to Ms. Herminia S. Advincula. The presiding judge merely told me that I am not liable for those lost items.[6]
x x x The inventories submitted by both parties present conflicting findings on the alleged missing exhibits and court properties. While Atty. Garcia claimed that there were missing exhibits and court properties, Judge Grageda reported that based on the inventory conducted by the court staff, there were no missing court furniture and equipment, books or publications, or lost exhibits in the RTC, Branch 4, Panabo City. The court properties allegedly unaccounted for were reported as either extant/existing, or unserviceable, or with the Office of the Clerk of Court, or returned to the Supreme Court for replacement, while the listed court exhibits were likewise reported as either attached to the records, or in the custody of the prosecution/defense, or confiscated by the government.
It is noted that before the retirement of Judge Grageda on 25 November 2009, a judicial audit was conducted on 17 to 26 November 2009 in the RTC, Branch 4, Panabo City. Based on the Report dated 08 March 2010, the audit team significantly found/reported no missing or lost exhibits and/or court property thereat.
Nevertheless, the Report of the Clerk of Court on the alleged missing exhibits and court properties should have prompted Judge Grageda to conduct an investigation on the matter, or at the very least, to report to the Court any action taken to verify or of any measures adopted to prevent loss of exhibits and court properties. The veracity of the reported missing exhibits and court properties should not have been taken lightly or ignored by Judge Grageda. As then Presiding Judge of the RTC, Branch 4, Panabo City, he had direct supervision and control over his personnel. The importance of a prompt investigation on the alleged loss was in fact conveyed to Judge Grageda in the OCA Memorandum dated 29 June 2009. As Presiding Judge, Judge Grageda should have initiated an immediate investigation on the allegations without waiting for a directive from the Court. In this regard, Judge Grageda was remiss in his duties.[12]
It should be noted that the judicial audit team submitted their report to DCA Vilches five days after Judge Mantua’s retirement. The OCA, in turn, submitted their Memorandum to CJ Puno on 12 May 2009, or a little over four months after Judge Mantua’s retirement. During his incumbency, Judge Mantua was never given a chance to explain the results of the judicial audit report. With the knowledge that the judicial audit report will be submitted only after Judge Mantua’s retirement, the judicial audit team’s recommendations were directed only to Atty. Mape, the Acting Clerk of Court and Legal Researcher II of Branch 17, and Judge Maraya, Acting Presiding Judge of Branch 17 at the time of the report’s submission. In its Memorandum, the OCA recommended that Judge Mantua be fined for gross incompetency and inefficiency.
x x x x
This Court concedes that there are no promulgated rules on the conduct of judicial audit. However, the absence of such rules should not serve as license to recommend the imposition of penalties to retired judges who, during their incumbency, were never given a chance to explain the circumstances behind the results of the judicial audit. Judicial audit reports and the memoranda which follow them should state not only recommended penalties and plans of action for the violations of audited courts, but also give commendations when they are due. To avoid similar scenarios, manual judicial audits may be conducted at least six months before a judge’s compulsory retirement. We recognize that effective monitoring of a judge’s observance of the time limits required in the disposition of cases is hampered by limited resources. These limitations, however, should not be used to violate Judge Mantua’s right to due process.[14] (Boldfacing supplied)
Respondent’s cessation from office x x x does not warrant the dismissal of the administrative complaint filed against him while he was still in the service nor does it render said administrative case moot and academic. The Court’s jurisdiction at the time of the filing of the administrative complaint is not lost by the mere fact that the respondent had ceased in office during the pendency of the case.[16]
Although the Ombudsman is not precluded by Section 20(5) of R.A. 6770 from conducting the investigation, the Ombudsman can no longer institute an administrative case against Andutan because the latter was not a public servant at the time the case was filed.
x x x x
x x x We disagree with the Ombudsman’s interpretation that ‘as long as the breach of conduct was committed while the public official or employee was still in service a public servant’s resignation is not a bar to his administrative investigation, prosecution and adjudication.’ If we agree with this interpretation, any official — even if he has been separated from the service for a long time — may still be subject to the disciplinary authority of his superiors, ad infinitum. We believe that this interpretation is inconsistent with the principal motivation of the law — which is to improve public service and to preserve the public’s faith and confidence in the government, and not the punishment of the public official concerned. Likewise, if the act committed by the public official is indeed inimical to the interests of the State, other legal mechanisms are available to redress the same.
x x x x
Lastly, the State is not without remedy against Andutan or any public official who committed violations while in office, but had already resigned or retired therefrom. Under the ‘threefold liability rule,’ the wrongful acts or omissions of a public officer may give rise to civil, criminal and administrative liability. Even if the Ombudsman may no longer file an administrative case against a public official who has already resigned or retired, the Ombudsman may still file criminal and civil cases to vindicate Andutan’s alleged transgressions.[18] (Boldfacing supplied)
The burden of substantiating the charges in an administrative proceeding against court officials and employees falls on the complainant, who must be able to prove the allegations in the complaint with substantial evidence. In the absence of evidence to the contrary, the presumption that respondent regularly performed her duties will prevail. Moreover, in the absence of cogent proof, bare allegations of misconduct cannot prevail over the presumption of regularity in the performance of official functions. In fact, an administrative complaint leveled against a judge must always be examined with a discriminating eye, for its consequential effects are, by their nature, highly penal, such that the respondent stands to face the sanction of dismissal and/or disbarment. The Court does not thus give credence to charges based on mere suspicion and speculation.[20]