807 Phil. 277
PER CURIAM:
WHEREFORE, the Court FINDS and PRONOUNCES respondent JUDGE ELIZA B. YU GUILTY of GROSS INSUBORDINATION; GROSS IGNORANCE OF THE LAW; GROSS MISCONDUCT; GRAVE ABUSE OF AUTHORITY; OPPRESSION; and CONDUCT UNBECOMING OF A JUDICIAL OFFICIAL; and, ACCORDINGLY, DISMISSES her from the service EFFECTIVE IMMEDIATELY, with FORFEITURE OF ALL HER BENEFITS, except accrued leave credits, and further DISQUALIFIES her from reinstatement or appointment to any public office or employment, including to one in any government-owned or government controlled corporations.In her motion, the respondent repeatedly denies committing all the administrative offenses for which she was held guilty, and insists on the absence of proof to support the findings against her. She pleads that the Court reconsiders based on the following:
Respondent JUDGE ELIZA B. YU is directed to show cause in writing within ten (10) days from notice why she should not be disbarred for violation of the Lawyer's Oath, the Code of Professional Responsibility, and the Canons of Professional Ethics as outlined herein.
Let a copy of this decision be furnished to the Office of the Court
Administrator for its information and guidance.
SO ORDERED.[1]
- Noncompliance with A.O. No. 19-2011
The complaint against her was premature because of the pendency of her protest against night court duty. A.O. No. 19-201 I did not carry a penal provision, and was only directory because of the use of the permissive word may. In addition to A.O. No. 19-2011 being non compliant with the requirements of a valid administrative order, the requirement of night court duty violated Section 5, Rule XVII of the Omnibus Rules Implementing Book V of the Administrative Code,[2] which limited the working hours for government officials and employees. It was also not illegal to write to the Secretary of the Department of Tourism (DOT) considering that he was the requesting authority regarding the rendering of the night court duty. She did not publicly broadcast her disobedience to A.O. No. 19-2011 when she wrote the letter to the Secretary. There was no law prohibiting her from writing the protest letters. At any rate, she had the right to do so under the Freedom of Speech Clause. She did not refuse to obey A.O. No. 19-2011 because she actually allowed her staff to report for night duty. She did not willfully and intentionally disobey because her protest had legal basis. She would also violate Section 3(a)[3] of Republic Act No. 3019 (Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act) if she would comply with the patently illegal A.O. No. 19-2011.[4]- Refusal to honor the appointments of Ms. Mariejoy P. Lagman and Ms. Leilani Tejero-Lopez
The respondent claims that she did not refuse to honor the appointment because rejection was different from protesting the appointment. She merely exercised her statutory right as a judge to question the appointment of the branch clerk of court assigned to her sala. Under Canon 2, Section 3 of the New Code of Judicial Conduct for the Philippine Judiciary,[5] she was mandated to bring to the proper authorities the irregularities surrounding the appointments. Moreover, the contents of the complaint letter and the protest could not be used against her pursuant to the constitutional right against self incrimination. She did not also commit any act of cruelty against Ms. Tejero-Lopez; on the contrary, it was Ms. Tejero-Lopez who "went beyond the norms of decency by her persistent and annoying application in my court that it actually became a harassment." Her opposition against the appointment of Ms. Lagman was meritorious. She only employed the wrong choice of words with her choice of the term privileged communication that was viewed negatively. There was no proof of the alleged verbal threats, abuse, misconduct or oppression committed against Ms. Tejero-Lopez. It was not proper to penalize a judge based on a "letter with few words that other people find objectionable."[6]- Show-cause order respondent issued against fellow judges
The respondent posits that the show-cause order she issued to her fellow judges had legal basis because "anything that is legal cannot be an assumption of the role of a tyrant wielding power with unbridled breath."[7] It was premature to rule that she thereby abused and committed misconduct because she did not issue any ruling on the explanation by the other judges.[8] She did not violate Section 5, Canon 3 and Section 8, Canon 4 of the Code of Judicial Conduct. What the other judges should have done was to avail themselves of the appropriate remedy.[9]- Refusal to sign the leave of absence of Mr. Noel Labid
The refusal to sign the application for leave of absence had factual and legal bases.[10] Moreover, she should be presumed to have acted in good faith if she misconstrued the rules on approval of application of leave. [11]- Allowing on-the-job trainees
The respondent claims that she did not order the trainees to perform judicial tasks. She asserts that she could not remember their affidavit. She had no personal knowledge that the trainees were made to serve as assistant court stenographers. Based on what she heard, the trainees were only in the premises of her court for a few hours. She reminds that she allowed the trainees to merely observe proceedings. OCA Circular No. 111-2005 was impliedly amended when paralegals and law students were allowed to be trained under the Hustisyeah project.[12]- Designation of an officer-in-charge and ordering reception of evidence by a non-lawyer
The respondent denies having violated CSC Memorandum Circular No. 06-05 when she designated an officer-in-charge. There was no proof showing that she willfully and deliberately intended to cause public damage. In fact, the OCA recognized Mr. Ferdinand Santos as the OIC of her branch in several letters. There was no proof that she violated Section 9, Rule 30 of the Rules of Court. The ex parte reception of evidence by a non-lawyer clerk of court was allowed under the Rules of Court, as well as by Section 21(e), Administrative Circular No. 35-2004, and Administrative Circular No. 37-93.[13]- Allowing criminal proceedings to continue despite the absence of counsel
The respondent merely followed the Rules of Criminal Procedure in allowing criminal proceedings despite absence of counsel. In so doing, she relied in good faith on the rulings in People v. Arcilla,[14] Bravo v. Court of Appeals,[15] and People v. Malinao. [16] Under Section 1 (c), Rule 115 of the Rules of Criminal Procedure, the accused may be allowed to defend himself in person without the assistance of counsel. [17]
- Sending of inappropriate email messages
The respondent maintains that the e-mail messages were hearsay because the certification by the SC-MISO was not presented to her, depriving her of the opportunity to object. Her granting access by the MISO to her private e-mails was conditional to prove tampering. Her Lycos e-mail account was hacked. She did not completely waive her right to privacy. Considering that she did not authenticate said e-mail messages, the same were inadmissible for being hearsay. The e-mail messages with her full name written in capital letters as the sender did not emanate from her because her Yahoo! and MSN accounts carried her name with only the first letters being capitalized. The e-mails reproduced in the decision were not the same messages that she had requested Judge San Gaspar-Gito to delete. There were words that she did not write on the e-mail messages pertaining to her demand for reimbursement of $10.00. Her writing style was different from what appeared in the e-mail messages. She denies having opened the "Rudela San Gaspar" account. It was wrong to penalize her based on assumptions and speculations. She did not commit electronic libel. Her funny and innocent comments were not actionable documents. The certification by the SC MISO was not an authentication as to the truthfulness of the contents of the e-mail messages and as to the identification of the sender or author of the messages. It was wrong and unjust to impute wrongdoing to her when there was no proof that she had sent the inappropriate messages. The disclaimer in the e-mails were not printed in the decision; hence, the messages were inadmissible. The presentation of the messages without her consent as the sender was covered by the exclusionary rule. Letters and communications in writing were guaranteed and protected by Sections 2,[18] 3(1),[19] Article III of the 1987 Constitution, and Article 723 of the Civil Code,[20] Articles 226[21] and 228[22] of the Revised Penal Code, Section 2756 of the Revised Administrative Code,[23] Sections 32[24] and 33[25] of the R.A. No. 8792. There was no proof that she had apologized through e-mail, and had sent messages with sexual undertones and lewd graphics. Judge Gito had a dirty mind because nothing was wrong with the 69 image by Felicien Rops. She (respondent) did not commit internet stalking. She had difficulty in remembering the private communications, which were taken out of context. It was Judge Gito who must have a problem because she had kept the trash messages. She (respondent) did not transgress any law. The allegations against her were hearsay. She submitted a letter proposal for a "winwin" solution so that she would not pursue any criminal action against Judge Gito. She did not violate Section 8, Canon 4 of the New Code of Judicial Conduct because it was one of her staff who had typed the letter addressed to Atty. San Gaspar. To find her to have abused her power and committed impropriety was unwarranted. Her absence from the investigation conducted by Justice Abdulwahid could not be taken against her and could not be construed as her admission of wrong doing or as an evasion of truth. There was no proof that she had used the phrase our court to advance her personal interest.[26]
[The right against self-incrimination], as put by Mr. Justice Holmes in Holt vs. United States, "x x x is a prohibition of the use of physical or moral compulsion, to extort communications from him x x x" It is simply a prohibition against legal process to extract from the [accused]'s own lips, against his will, admission of his guilt. It docs not apply to the instant case where the evidence sought to be excluded is not an incriminating statement but an object evidence. Wigmore, discussing the question now before us in his treatise on evidence, thus, said:The respondent's correspondences were outside the scope of the constitutional proscription against self-incrimination. She had not been subjected to testimonial compulsion in which she could validly raise her right against self-incrimination. Worthy to recall is that she had herself voluntarily waived her right to be present and to confront the complainant and her witnesses and evidence during the administrative investigation conducted by CA Associate Justice Hakim Abdulwahid. She was emphatically granted the opportunity to confront the complainant and her witnesses but the voluntary and knowing waiver of her presence divested her of the right to insist on the right to confrontation, if any.If, in other words (the rule) created inviolability not only for his [physical control of his] own vocal utterances, but also for his physical control in whatever form exercise, then, it would be possible for a guilty person to shut himself up in hi s house, with all the tools and indicia of his crime, and defy the authority of the law to employ in evidence anything that might be obtained by forcibly overthrowing his possession and compelling the surrender of the evidential articles a clear reduction ad absurdum. In other words, it is not merely compulsion that is the kernel of the privilege, x x x but testimonial compulsion.[30]
The respondent's pleading is unworthy of sympathy.
- Medications on allergies as analogous circumstance to an unsubstantiated charge;
- Good faith on each the unsubstantiated charge xxx;
- First time offense of the unsubstantiated charge;
- Lack of education or lack of experience on administrative matters as analogous circumstance to the unsubstantiated charge;
- Newness or short number in the judicial service as analogous circumstance to the unsubstantiated charge;
- Very different work culture from previous employment as unsubstantiated charge;
- Lack of prejudice to the public as analogous circumstance to the unsubstantiated charge;
- Remorse for not listening to the unsolicited advices of Court Administrator Jose Midas Marquez and Assistant Court Administrator Thelma Bahia as analogous circumstance to the unsubstantiated charge;
- Lack of intent to commit any wrong as analogous circumstance to the unsubstantiated charge;
- Previously received awards in the performance of his duties to the unsubstantiated charge; and
- Outstanding court performance as to cases disposal for year to the unsubstantiated charge.[32]
In common usage, the term "good faith" is ordinarily used to describe that state of mind denoting "honesty of intention, and freedom from knowledge of circumstances which ought to put the holder upon inquiry; an honest intention to abstain from taking any unconscientious advantage of another, even through technicalities of law, together with absence of all information, notice, or benefit or belief of facts which render transaction unconscientious."The respondent is reminded that her removal from the Judiciary by reason of her gross insubordination and gross misconduct did not proceed only from her non-compliance with A.O. No. 19-2011. Other acts and actuations were also efficient causes, namely: (1) her refusal to abide by the directive of MeTC Executive Judge Bibiano Colasito that resulted in the disruption of orderliness in the other Pasay City MeTCs to the prejudice of the public service and public interest; (2) her direct communications to the DOT Secretary and other agencies that seriously breached established protocols, thereby opening an irregular avenue to publicly broadcast her defiance to the directive of the Court itself; and (3) her willful disregard of the direct advice by the Court Administrator despite the latter being the official expressly authorized by law to assist the Court in exercising administrative supervision over all lower courts and personnel.[34]
In short, good faith is actually a question of intention. Although this is something internal, we can ascertain a person's intention by relying not on his own protestations of good faith, which is self-serving, but on evidence of his conduct and outward acts. (bold emphasis supplied)
In all, Judge Yu exhibited an unbecoming arrogance in committing insubordination and gross misconduct. By her refusal to adhere to and abide by A.O. No. 19-2011, she deliberately disregarded her duty to serve as the embodiment of the law at all times. She thus held herself above the law by refusing to be bound by the issuance of the Court as the duly constituted authority on court procedures and the supervision of the lower courts. To tolerate her insubordination and gross misconduct is to abet lawlessness on her part. She deserved to be removed from the service because she thereby revealed her unworthiness of being part of the Judiciary. (Bold emphasis supplied)We have stated in the decision of November 22, 2016 that the respondent's recalcitrant streak did not end with her unbecoming repudiation of and defiance to A.O. No. 19-2011. To recall, she also exhibited extreme arrogance in rejecting the valid appointments of Ms. Lagman and Ms. Tejero-Lopez despite being fully aware that the appointing powers pertained to and were being thereby exercised by the Court, and that she was bereft of any discretion to control or reject the appointments. Under no circumstance could she be justified in draping herself with the mantle of good faith in regard to her insubordination and arrogance.
A.M. No. 02-9-02-SC, dated September 17, 2002 and entitled Re: Automatic Conversion of Some Administrative Cases Against Justices of the Court of Appeals and the Sandiganbayan; Judges of Regular and Special Courts, and Court Officials Who are Lawyers as Disciplinary Proceedings Against Them Both as Such Officials and as Members of the Philippine Bar, relevantly states:In her comment, the respondent reiterates her submissions in the Motion for Reconsideration with Explanation for the Show Cause Order. Considering that we have dismissed her pleadings altogether for the reasons given earlier, her disbarment is now inevitable.Some administrative cases against Justices of the Court of Appeals and the Sandiganbayan; judges of regular and special courts; and court officials who are lawyers are based on grounds which are likewise grounds for the disciplinary action of members of the Bar for violation of the Lawyer's Oath, the Code of Professional Responsibility, and the Canons of Professional Ethics, or for such other forms of breaches of conduct that have been traditionally recognized as grounds for the discipline of lawyers.Under Section 27, Rule 138 of the Rules of Court, an attorney may be disbarred on the ground of gross misconduct and willful disobedience of any lawful order of a superior court. Given her wanton defiance of the Court's own directives, her open disrespect towards her fellow judges, her blatant abuse of the powers appurtenant to her judicial office, and her penchant for threatening the defenseless with legal actions to make them submit to her will, we should also be imposing the penalty of disbarment. The object of disbarment is not so much to punish the attorney herself as it is to safeguard the administration of justice, the courts and the public from the misconduct of officers of the court. Also, disbarment seeks to remove from the Law Profession attorneys who have disregarded their Lawyer's Oath and thereby proved themselves unfit to continue discharging the trust and respect given to them as members of the Bar.
In any of the foregoing instances, the administrative case shall also be considered a disciplinary action against the respondent Justice, judge or court official concerned as a member of the Bar. The respondent may forthwith be required to comment on the complaint and show cause why he should not also be suspended, disbarred or otherwise disciplinarily sanctioned as a member of the Bar. Judgment in both respects may be incorporated in one decision or resolution.
The administrative charges against respondent Judge Yu based on grounds that were also grounds for disciplinary actions against members of the Bar could easily be treated as justifiable disciplinary initiatives against her as a member of the Bar. This treatment is explained by the fact that her membership in the Bar was an integral aspect of her qualification for judgeship. Also, her moral and actual unfitness to remain as a Judge, as found in these cases, reflected her indelible unfitness to remain as a member of the Bar. At the very least, a Judge like her who disobeyed the basic rules of judicial conduct should not remain as a member of the Bar because she had thereby also violated her Lawyer's Oath.
Indeed, respondent Judge Yu's violation of the fundamental tenets of judicial conduct embodied in the New Code of Judicial Conduct for the Philippine Judiciary would constitute a breach of the following canons of the Code of Professional Responsibility, to wit:CANON 1 A LAWYER SHALL UPHOLD THE CONSTITUTION, OBEY THE LAWS OF THE LAND AND PROMOTE RESPECT FOR LAW AND FOR LEGAL PROCESSES.The Court does not take lightly the ramifications of Judge Yu's misbehavior and misconduct as a judicial officer. By penalizing her with the supreme penalty of dismissal from the service, she should not anymore be allowed to remain a member of the Law Profession.
Rule 1.02 A lawyer shall not counsel or abet activities aimed at defiance of the law or at lessening confidence in the legal system.
CANON 6 THESE CANONS SHALL APPLY TO LAWYERS IN GOVERNMENT SERVICE IN THE DISCHARGE OF THEIR OFFICIAL TASKS.
Rule 6.02 A lawyer in the government service shall not use his public position to promote or advance his private interests, nor allow the latter to interfere with his public duties.
CANON 11 A LAWYER SHALL OBSERVE AND MAINTAIN THE RESPECT DUE TO THE COURTS AND TO JUDICIAL OFFICERS AND SHOULD INSIST ON SIMILAR CONDUCT BY OTHERS.
Rule 11.03 A lawyer shall abstain from scandalous, offensive or menacing language or behavior before the Courts.
However, this rule of fusing the dismissal of a Judge with disbarment does not in any way dispense with or set aside the respondent's right to due process. As such, her disbarment as an offshoot of A.M. No. 02-9-02-SC without requiring her to comment on the disbarment would be violative of her right to due process. To accord due process to her, therefore, she should first be afforded the opportunity to defend her professional standing as a lawyer before the Court would determine whether or not to disbar her.
Sec. 27. Attorneys removed or suspended by Supreme Court on What grounds. A member of the bar may be removed or suspended from his office as attorney by the Supreme Court for any deceit, malpractice, or other gross misconduct in such office, grossly immoral conduct, or by reason of his conviction of a crime involving moral turpitude, or for any violation of the oath which he is required to take before the admission to practice, or for a willful disobedience of any lawful order of a superior court, or for corruptly or willfully appearing as an attorney for a party to a case without authority so to do. The practice of soliciting cases at law for the purpose of gain, either personally or through paid agents or brokers, constitutes malpractice.Accordingly, gross misconduct, violation of the Lawyer's Oath, and willful disobedience of any lawful order by the Court constitute grounds to disbar an attorney. In the respondent's case, she was herein found to have committed all of these grounds for disbarment, warranting her immediate disbarment as a consequence.
(a) Persuading, inducing or influencing another public officer to perform an act constituting a violation of rules and regulations duly promulgated by competent authority or an offense in connection with the official duties of the latter, or allowing himself to be persuaded, induced, or influenced to commit such violation or offense.
[26] Rollo (A. M . No. MTJ-1 2-1813), pp. 1010-1033.
(a) Hacking or cracking which refers to unauthorized access into or interference in a computer system /server or information and communication system; or any access in order to corrupt, alter, steal, or destroy using a computer or other similar information and communication devices, without the knowledge and consent of the owner of the computer or information and communications system, including the introduction of computer viruses and the like, resulting in the corruption, destruction, alteration, theft or loss of electronic data messages or electronic documents shall be punished by a minimum fine of One Hundred Thousand pesos (P100,000.00) and a maximum commensurate to the damage incurred and a mandatory imprisonment of six (6) months to three (3) years; (b) Piracy or the unauthorized copying, reproduction, dissemination, or distribution, importation, use, removal, alteration, substitution, modification, storage, uploading, downloading, communication, making available to the public, or broadcasting of protected material, electronic signature or copyrighted works including legally protected sound recordings or phonograms or information material on protected works, through the use of telecommunication networks, such as, but not limited to, the internet, in a manner that in fringes intellectual property rights shall be punished by a minimum fine of one hundred thousand pesos (P100,000.00) and a maximum commensurate to the damage incurred and a mandatory imprisonment of six (6) months to three (3) years; (c) Violations of the Consumer Act or Republic Act No. 7394 and other relevant to pertinent laws through transaction covered by or using electronic data messages or electronic documents, shall be penalized with the same penalties as provided in those laws; (d) Other violations of the provisions of this Act, shall be penalized with a maximum penalty of one million pesos (P1,000,000.0) or six (6) years imprisonment.