A.M. No. P-01-1524. July 29, 2002
OFFICE OF THE COURT ADMINISTRATOR, VS. VIRGILIO M. FORTALEZA, CLERK OF COURT, MTC, CATANAUAN, QUEZON; AND ELENA P. REFORMADO, CLERK OF COURT II, MTC, GUINAYANGAN, QUEZON, RESPON…
PER CURIAM:
An audit examination was conducted on the Municipal Trial
Court, Guinayangan,
Quezon pursuant to the Resolution of the Third Division dated August 2,
2000,
directing the Court Management Office of the Office of the Court
Administrator
(OCA) to immediately conduct a financial audit on Clerk of Court Mrs.
Elena P.
Reformado due to non-remittance of Judicial collections.
In their Memorandum dated January 24, 2001, the Audit Team
reported that upon
their arrival at the MTC, Guinayangan, Quezon, the Team was informed
that Clerk
of Court Reformado was on forced leave although her leave application
was not
signed by Judge Designate Manuel G. Salumbides. The Team proceeded to
the house
of Ms. Reformado to inform her about the purpose of their travel and to
require
her presence in the court for the needed documents, but Ms. Reformado
was not
around as she was allegedly in Manila to attend to a member of a family
who was
confined in the hospital.
The Team went back to the court to continue with their
examination of the
pertinent records/documents involving cash collections/remittances and
these
were their findings:
xxx the Team was told by the court staff that all
records/documents involving
cash collections and remittances are not kept in the Court and that Mrs.Reformado is keeping them at home. The documents surrendered during that
instance are the Official Receipts under Series Numbers 12589851 to
12589900 and
12589901 to 12589950 being used at present for JDF and General Fund,
respectively. The said OR’s were left in the custody of Mrs. Fe F.
Olivera,
Court Stenographer, whose only responsibility is to issue receipts to
parties
but the total collections for the day are being turned-over to Mrs.
Reformado.
The Official Receipts used for the collections of Fiduciary Fund were
being kept
by Mrs. Reformado.Based on the official receipts presented, the unremitted cash
collections at
the time of the cash count amounted to Two Thousand Ninety Pesos
(P2,090.00)
xxxIn order to complete the records and to finalize the audit, the
Team gave
them a Checklist of Requirements to be forwarded to the Fiscal
Monitoring
Division immediately upon the return of Mrs.
Reformado.
Records will show that the last audit conducted at the
Municipal Trial Court
of Guinayangan, Quezon covered the period April 1985 to May 31, 1991
with then
Amelita O. Laduan as Clerk of Court and found her cleared of all her
accountabilities. The audit covering the incumbency of Elena P.
Reformado was
confined only to collections/deposits/withdrawals on the Judiciary
Development
Fund for the period June 1, 1991 to present as well as the Clerk of
Court
General Fund and the Clerk of Court Fiduciary Fund for the period June
1995 to
present.
The legal fees being collected by the subject court are the
following:
- Clerk of Court Fiduciary Fund
- Clerk of Court General Fund
- Judiciary Development Fund
Based on the Subsidiary Ledgers of the Accounting Division,
Financial
Management Office, Office of the Court Administrator, it was found out
that Mrs.
Reformado is not submitting her monthly reports of
collections/deposits/withdrawals for JDF and General Fund since 1997 up
to the
present and has not submitted a single report for Fiduciary Fund
collection.
For the non-submission of her monthly reports, the salaries and
other
allowances of Mrs. Reformado are being withheld. One would wonder why
she was
able to survive for more than one and a-half years without receiving her
salary
and other benefits since May 1999 with children being sent to college
and a
husband whose only means of income is the earnings derived from being a
tricycle
driver. Why she is also not so anxious to recover her accumulated
salaries by
simply complying with all the requirements is a puzzle for us that puts
her
character in a cloud of doubt.[1]
Unable to conduct a full audit on the MTC, Guinayangan, Quezon
because of
Mrs. Reformado’s absence who had in her possession the other pertinent
documents, the Financial Audit Team was then instructed by the OCA to
join the
other judicial audit team assigned to the Municipal Trial Courts of
Catanauan,
General Luna, Lopez, Mulanay and Unisan and in the Municipal Circuit
Trial
Courts of San Narciso-Buenavista and San Francisco-San Andres, all
within the
Bondoc Peninsula of the Province of Quezon.
With respect to these courts, the Team found the inventory of
the cash and
other cash items in order except in the MTC of Catanauan, Quezon. In the
same
Memorandum dated January 24, 2001, the following were
reported:
Mr. Virgilio M. Fortaleza, the Clerk of Court of the MTC,
Catanauan, Quezon
was not around when the Team arrived in this Court. Since Mr. Virgilio
Fortaleza
was not present at that time, Mrs. Norberta Fortaleza, Court
Stenographer I,
assisted them when they demanded that the official receipts and cash on
hand be
presented for inventory. It took some time before the cash and other
cash items
were given. xxxThe cash presented amounted to P66,800.00 as against the
unremitted
collections amounting to P65,170.00 resulted to an overage amounting to
One
Thousand Six Hundred Thirty Pesos (P1,630.00). The overage of P1,630.00
per cash
count can not as yet be considered as such since the Team had not done
the
detailed examination of Mr. Fortaleza’s cashbooks and other related
documents.Based on the Subsidiary Ledger of the Accounting Division,
Financial
Management Office, Office of the Court Administrator, Mr. Fortaleza was
observant in the submission of Monthly Report of
Collections/Deposits/Withdrawals for all funds.On the other hand, Mr. Fortaleza was aware that he violated
Administrative
Circular No. 5-93 dated April 30, 1993 as amended by Administrative
Circular No.
3-2000 dated June 15, 2000, Administrative Circular No. 50-95 dated
October 11,
1995 and Chapter 4 Article 1 Section 111 (Vol. 1) of the Government
Accounting
and Auditing Manual. Regarding this matter, the Team advised him to
refrain from
delaying the deposits/remittance of
collections.
Meanwhile, after a week of the surprise audit examination on
the MTC,
Guinayangan, Quezon, Ms. Reformado personally appeared before Atty.
Thelma Bahia
and Mrs. Verina Yap at the Office of the Court Administrator to explain
her
accountabilities. She confessed that she used the money for her personal
needs
and promised to restitute whatever amount may be established and to
submit the
needed documents as soon as she returned to her station. Per Audit
Team’s
assessment, Mrs. Reformado’s total accountabilities for the JDF and
Clerk of
Court General Fund amounted to the following:
Fund:
period
2000
2000
Fund:
period
2000
As
a result of the aforesaid Report of the Audit Team, the Court issued a
Resolution dated February 6, 2001 where the Court Resolved to:
(a) NOTE the Memorandum dated 24 January 2001 of Court
Administrator Alfredo
L. Benipayo;(b) RELIEVE immediately Mrs. Elena P. Reformado, Clerk of
Court, MTC,
Guinayangan, Quezon, of her duties as Accountable Officer;(c) DIRECT Judge Manuel G. Salumbides to designate forthwith
someone from the
same court to supervise the handling of collections pertaining to the
Judiciary;(d) DIRECT Mrs. Reformado to (d-1) RESTITUTE the shortages for
JDF and Clerk
of Court General Fund amounting to P66,415.15 and P1,070.04,
respectively; (d-2)
SUBMIT the cashbooks, monthly reports and other documents regarding the
collections, deposits, withdrawals, court orders and acknowledgment
receipts for
Fiduciary Fund to fully determine her total accountabilities for said
fund; and
(d-3) EXPLAIN why no disciplinary action shall be taken against her for
her
failure to submit her monthly reports for JDF and General Fund since
April 1997
and for Fiduciary Fund since the start of collection, all within ten
(10) days)
days from notice hereof;(e) DIRECT Mr. Virgilio Fortaleza, Clerk of Court, MTC,
Catanauan, Quezon, to
EXPLAIN within ten (10) days from notice why no disciplinary action
should be
imposed upon him for keeping in his possession for a long period of time
the
money collected pertaining to the Judiciary and for his failure to remit
the
same on time; and(f) ADVISE Clerks of Court/Officers-in-Charge of the MTCs of
Catanauan,
General Luna, Lopez, Mulanay and Unisan and the MCTC of San
Narciso-Buenavista
and San Francisco-San Andres to follow strictly the Supreme Court
circulars on
the proper handling of Judiciary collections.”[3]
In compliance with the above resolution, Mr. Virgilio M.
Fortaleza, Clerk of
Court of MTC, Catanauan, Quezon gave his explanation dated March 19,
2001 which
was received by the Office of the Court Administrator on March 29, 2001.
Mr.
Fortaleza reasoned out that he has been actually remitting his Judiciary
collections to the Land Bank of the Philippines, Mulanay Branch,
Mulanay,
Quezon, which is about fifteen (15) kilometers away from his station
since there
is no Land Bank branch in his town. In order to get there, he would opt
to use
his own vehicle as an extra precaution to safeguard his collections.
While it is
true that at the time of the financial audit examination in September,
2000, he
still had in his possession the Judiciary collections, this was,
however, not
for a long time. He explained that he would accumulate the collections
first
which were sometimes small, and would remit them to the Land Bank at the
end of
the month in order to save time and effort in traveling considering the
distance, not to mention the rough roads he has to travel.
Mrs. Elena Reformado also submitted her explanation dated March
15, 2001
which was received by the OCA on April 25, 2001. She explained that she
failed
to remit the fees collected because she used the same to save the life
of her
ailing father who eventually died and to shoulder the cost of education
of her
three (3) children who are in college and another three (3) in high
school. She
asked for additional time to restitute the amount due her as she is
exhausting
all possible efforts to raise the money. She added that she was able to
remit to
the Supreme Court the amount of P25,000.00 the week after she went to
see Atty.
Bahia at the Supreme Court.
On July 23, 2001, Ms. Reformado filed another letter requesting
for an
extension of time for the restitution of the amount as she found it
difficult to
recover the incurred shortages. At the same time, she prayed for the
lifting of
the suspension of her salary which started from August, 1999 up to the
present
in order to alleviate her present financial distress.
All these letters/explanations were referred to the OCA for
evaluation and
recommendation. Acting on the Memorandum dated October 30, 2001 of the
OCA, the
Court issued a Resolution on November 27, 2001, with the following
actions, to
wit:
(a) NOTE the Memorandum dated 30 October 2001 filed by Deputy
Court
Administrator Jose P. Perez in compliance with the resolution of 26 June
and 10
July 2001;(b) DOCKET the report on the financial audit conducted in the
MTC of
Guinayangan, Quezon as A.M. No. P-01-1524 (Office of the Court
Administrator vs.
Virgilio M. Fortaleza, Clerk of Court, MTC, Catanauan, Quezon and Elena
P.
Reformado, Clerk of Court II, MTC, Guinayangan, Quezon);(c) REPRIMAND Mr. Fortaleza with warning that a repetition of
the same or
similar acts in the future shall be dealt with more severely;(d) ADVISE Mr. Fortaleza to follow strictly the Supreme Court
circulars on
the proper handling of Judiciary collections;(e) SUSPEND Mrs. Reformado pending resolution of this
administrative
matter;(f) DIRECT Mrs. Reformado to (f-1) fully restitute the
established shortages
for the JDF (P66,415.15 – P24,259.00 = P42,156.15) and the General Fund
(P1,070.04); (f-2) submit to the Fiscal Monitoring Division, Court
Management
Office, OCA, duly validated deposit slip as proof of remittance of the
amount of
P24,259.00 to the JDF; and (f-3) submit to the Fiscal Monitoring
Division the
necessary documents for the Fiduciary Fund;(g) GRANT Mrs. Reformado an extension of sixty (60) days from
notice to
restitute her shortages as directed in the resolution dated 6 February
2001;
and(h) DIRECT Acting Presiding Judge Manuel B. Salumbides, MTC,
Guinayangan,
Quezon, to submit the necessary documents for the reconciliation of the
Fiduciary Fund and to account all the cases filed in the said court
involving
trust liabilities, including consignation and rental deposits, within
thirty
(30) days from receipt of notice hereof.”[4]
In compliance with the aforesaid resolution, particularly
paragraph (h), the
Acting Clerk of Court of MTC, Guinayangan, Quezon submitted the
necessary
documents for the reconciliation of the Fiduciary Fund including the
list of
cases with cash deposits as bailbond together with the undertaking of
bondsmen
and the accused. A summary of the list of cases are as
follows:
DEPOSITS
No.
of
Accu9365sed/ Crim9329e
Charged
Deposited
No.
y Agency
Vergara/
Attempted
Homicide
Vergara/Ser.
Oral
Defamation
Vergara/Ser.
Oral
Defamation
522
vs.
Loreto
Guarin, et al.
&
9199
Beligon/ Ser.
Oral
Defamation
Tajon/Violation
of
BP 222,000.00
Olivar/ Ser.
Oral
Defamation
@ Totoy/
Frustated
Homicide
Beligion/Ser.
Oral
Defamation
Beligion/Ser.
Oral
Defamation
Violation of
Sec.
69 of PD 705
RIR to
damage
to property
Villafuerte/RIR
to
ser. Physical
injuries
&
9432
Noblefranca et
al
/Illegal fishing
Violation og BP 22Thus, the following evaluation and recommendation of the
OCAD:The list of cases with cash deposits shows that Mrs.
Reformado’s
accountability covered the collections from 23 June 1995 to 26 January
2001 or a
total of P51,750.00. In addition, a certification by the Office of the
Municipal
Treasurer issued on 29 March 2001, duly signed by Adoracion T. Caparros,Municipal Treasurer and Reynaldo F. Molines, Municipal Accountant noted
that
there is an existing balance of P23,138.18 in the Account Code of
Depository
Liabilities (Bail Bond) under Trust Fund, to wit:
___________From the data on hand, the cash bond collections deposited with
the Rural
Bank of Guinayangan (RBG) amounting to P 10,000.00 and those collectionsallegedly deposited amounting to P24,000.00, or a total of P34,000.00
should
form part of the cash shortage against Mrs. Reformado representing
unwithdrawn
fiduciary fund. The final accountability, however, could not be still
determined
yet, pending submission by respondent of concrete proofs that her other
accountabilities representing unwithdrawn fiduciary fund had in fact
been
deposited with the proper depository agencies. It is also worthy to note
that
some official receipts were not issued sequentially violating internal
control
procedure in the collection of cash.The continuous failure of Mrs. Reformado to restitute her
shortages, despite
the extensions given by the Court is a clear indication that she has
incurred
cash shortages during the period of her accountability. Neither did she
offer
any explanation nor presented evidence that would exculpate her from
responsibility. Her silence and inaction can be interpreted as defiance
to the
directives of the Court, and worse, as admission of her
liability.The Court was explicit when it held in the case of Office of
the Court
Administrator vs. Atty. Rodrigo B. Galo (A.M. No. P-93-989) that failure
of a
Clerk of Court to turn over money deposited with him and to explain and
present
evidence thereon constitutes gross dishonesty, grave misconduct and evenmalversation of public funds for which dismissal from the service with
forfeiture of all leave credits and of retirement privileges and with
prejudice
to reappointment are clearly appropriate. Clearly, Mrs. Reformado should
be held
liable.WHEREFORE, premises considered, it is respectfully recommended
for
consideration of the Honorable Court that Mrs. Elena P. Reformado, Clerk
of
Court II, MTC, Guinayangan, Quezon be DISMISSED from the service for
gross
dishonesty, grave misconduct and malversation of public funds while in
office
and that her terminal leave pay as well as her withheld salaries be
forfeited
and applied to her accountabilities. Likewise, respondent be declared
disqualified from reemployment in any branch of the government or in anygovernment-owned or controlled corporations. It is further recommended
that the
Legal Office, OCA be directed to file the appropriate criminal charges
against
Mrs. Reformado.We adopt the findings and the recommendation of the
OCA.
The Clerk of Court performs a very delicate function. He or she
is the
custodian of the court’s funds and revenues, records, property and
premises.
Being the custodian thereof, the clerk of court is liable for any loss,
shortage, destruction or impairment of said funds and property. [5] Clerks of Court have
always been reminded
of their duty to immediately deposit the various funds received by them
to the
authorized government depositories for they are not supposed to keep
funds in
their custody. [6]
In the Report on
the Financial Audit in RTC, General Santos City and the RTC &
MTC of
Polomok, South Cotabato, the Court emphasized the role of the
clerk of
court with regard to the collection of legal fees, to wit:
xxx Clerks of court are the chief administrative officers of
their respective
courts; with regard to the collection of legal fees, they perform a
delicate
function as judicial officers entrusted with the correct and effective
implementation of regulations thereon. Even the undue delay in the
remittances
of amounts collected by them at the very least constitutes misfeasance.
On the
other hand, a vital administrative function of a judge is the effective
management of his court and this includes control of the conduct of the
court’s
ministerial officers. It should be brought home to both that the
safekeeping of
funds and collections is essential to the goal of an orderly
administration of
justice and no protestation of good faith can override the mandatory
nature of
the Circulars designed to promote full accountability for government
funds.
As Clerk of Court, Mrs. Reformado is an accountable officer
entrusted with
the great responsibility of collecting money belonging to the funds of
the
Court. Regrettably, she abused the trust and confidence reposed upon her
and did
not perform her duty with utmost loyalty and honesty. Ms. Reformado
admitted
that she used the money collected to defray the cost of the
hospitalization of
her ailing father who eventually succumbed to death and the cost of
education of
her children. Mrs. Reformado’s predicament evokes our sympathy, but her
situation cannot justify what she has done. The money collected are
government
funds. She had no right to use them for her personal needs. Failure of a
Clerk
of Court to turn over money deposited with him or her and to explain and
present
evidence thereon constitutes gross dishonesty, grave misconduct and even
malversation of public funds. [7]
Nonetheless, the Court had been quite lenient with Mrs. Reformado as she
was
given sufficient time to be able to restitute the amount but to no
avail. It is
also noted that Mrs. Reformado had constantly violated the Court
Circulars
regarding the collection of legal fees which were formulated for the
proper
management of funds. Her attention was already called when her salaries
had been
withheld for her similar transgression as early as August, 1999 and yet,
Mrs.
Reformado still failed to obey the Court’s orders. [8] Her persistent failure to restitute
her
shortages despite the extensions of time given and inaction to the
Court’s
directives are inexcusable. This Court cannot tolerate nor condone any
conduct
which would violate the norms of public accountability, and diminish the
faith
of the people in the justice system. For those who have fallen short of
their
accountabilities, we have not hesitated to impose the ultimate
penalty.
IN VIEW WHEREOF, the Court hereby
orders the
DISMISSAL of respondent Elena P. Reformado,
Clerk of Court II,
Municipal Trial Court, Guinayangan, Quezon from the service, for gross
dishonesty, grave misconduct, and malversation of public funds while in
office,
with forfeiture of her terminal leave pay as well as her withheld
salaries, the
same to be applied to her accountabilities. Likewise, respondent be
declared
disqualified from re-employment in any branch of the government or in
any
government-owned or controlled corporations.
SO ORDERED.
Davide, Jr., C.J., Bellosillo,
Puno, Vitug, Kapunan,
Mendoza, Panganiban, Quisumbing, Ynares-Santiago, Sandoval-Gutierrez,
Carpio,
Austria-Martinez, and Corona, JJ.,
concur.
[1] Memorandum
dated January 24, 2001
from Court Administrator Alfredo L. Benipayo.
[2]
Memorandum, dated January 24,
2001.
[3]
Resolution dated February 6,
2001.
[4]
Resolution, dated 27 November
2001.
[5]
Office of the Court Administrator
vs. Bawalan, 231 SCRA 408 (1994).
[6] See
Office of the Court
Administrator vs. Galo, 314 SCRA 705 (1999).
[7]
Office of the Court
Administrator vs. Galo, Supra.
[8] A.M.
No. 01-4-133-MTC- Re:
Withholding of Other Emoluments, etc. of Clerks of Court Elsie C.
Remoraza, et
al. dated 7 August 2001 where the Court En Banc suspended without pay
Mrs.
Reformado together with some Clerks of Court, effective upon notice
until they
have complied with Supreme Court Circular No. 32-93 dated 9 July
1993.
Circular 32-93 requires the submission of monthly reports of
collections for
all funds to be sent to the Supreme Court not later than the 10th day of
each
succeeding month and should include among others original copy of Report
of
Collections and Deposits; duplicate official receipts issued and a copy
of the
validated deposit slip or the postal money order stub it remittance is
by
PMO.