REPORT ON THE AUDIT AND INVENTORY OF CASE LOAD IN THE MUNICIPAL TRIAL COURT AT BIñAN, LAGUNA.  JUDGE ARTURO L. JULIANO, RESPONDENT.

Sometime in October,
1990, on the basis of information relayed by the Court’s Statistics Division to
the Office of the Court Administrator — that the monthly report of cases of
Judge Arturo L. Juliano of the Municipal Trial Court at Biñan, Laguna showed
that there were 1,404 cases pending
in said court as of July 19, 1990– the Court Administrator sent a team to
conduct an audit and inventory of the case load of that court. At that time, Judge Juliano was facing
criminal charges in the Sandiganbayan,^[1] and
had in fact been suspended from office on account thereof in accordance with
law.^[2]

The audit team submitted its report on November 19, 1990. The report confirmed that the MTC at Biñan did indeed have 1,404 pending cases
as of July 19, 1990: 1,203 criminal
cases and 201 civil cases.^[3] Of
these, 921 criminal and 102 civil cases were classified as
“inactive,” i.e., “unserved warrants of arrest/summons, no
setting & the like;” and as regards 110 other cases listed in
“the docket books” (77 criminal and 33 civil cases), the records were
missing although considered by the audit team as “still pending.”^[4]

The audit team’s report also contained the following findings, viz.:

1) that prior to Judge
Juliano’s suspension, “140 criminal cases and 50 civil cases ** (had) not
been decided or resolved by ** (him) way beyond the 90-day reglementary period
** ** ;” and

2) that according to the
records of the Court’s Leave Section, “Judge Arturo L. Juliano has been
regularly submitting his monthly Certificate of Service (Form No. 86)
certifying that he has fully complied with the provisions of Sec. 5 of RA 296
when in truth he has plenty of unresolved cases as of July 19, 1990.”

Acting on these findings, this Court, in its Resolution dated
February 12, 1991, directed Executive Judge Minita Chico Nazario, Regional
Trial Court at Biñan, Laguna, to herself conduct an audit and physical
inventory of the case load of Judge Juliano. This, Judge Nazario promptly did, with the assistance of her clerk of
court (Atty. Ernesto A. Luzod, Jr.), interpreter (Benedicto Pascual), and
deputy sheriff (Narciso P. Paz). In due
course, Judge Nazario submitted her report, dated May 20, 1991, covering
“the time of the assumption to office of Judge Juliano in August, 1975 up
to the time of his suspension on July 20, 1990,” which confirmed inter
alia that there were 101 cases (56 criminal and 32 civil) submitted for
decision but undecided beyond 90 days, and 42 motions in other cases submitted
for resolution but also unresolved by Judge Juliano beyond 90 days, and that the
records of thirty-two (32) cases (29 criminal and 3 civil, including one [1]
submitted for decision) could not be found or accounted for.

Thus indisputably established is Judge Juliano’s omission to
render judgment on the merits in more than a hundred cases, and to resolve more
than forty incidents, within ninety (90) days from their submission; and that
this notwithstanding, and over a period surely extending over many years, he
has executed and submitted to the Court monthly certifications falsely asserting
the contrary: i.e., that all cases and
motions submitted to him had been decided or resolved by him within ninety (90)
days from submission, and thus
was able to collect his salaries. Similarly demonstrated beyond cavil is his failure to account for the
records of no less than twenty-nine (29) criminal cases, and three (3) civil
cases including one already submitted for decision.

These facts speak for themselves. Judge Juliano is guilty of extremely gross misconduct: failure to comply with positive duty over an
unconscionably long period of time and falsification of official
documents. (See Secretary of Justice v.
Legaspi, 107 SCRA 233, 245). He is
guilty as well of an incredible laxity in the custody and safekeeping of
judicial records amounting almost to a deliberate intent to cause their disappearance (SEE Longboan v. Polig, 186
SCRA 557, 562).

The Court therefore Resolved to DISMISS respondent Judge Arturo
L. Juliano from the service, with forfeiture of all retirement benefits and
privileges, if any, except accrued or earned leave credits, and with prejudice
to re-­employment in any branch, agency or instrumentality of the government
including government-owned or controlled corporations. Said respondent Judge is hereby ORDERED,
immediately on notice of this Decision, to vacate his office and cease and
desist from the performance of his functions as such judge.

IT IS SO ORDERED.

Narvasa, C.J., Cruz, Feliciano, Padilla, Bidin, Griño-Aquino,
Regalado, Davide, Jr., Romero, Nocon, Bellosillo, Melo, Quiason, Puno, and Vitug, JJ., concur.

^[1]
He has since been convicted and taken an appeal to this Court.

^[2]
On July 20, 1990, Judge Conrado R. Sison, MTC, Cabuyao, Laguna, was designated
Acting Judge of the Biñan MTC by RTC Executive Judge Minita Chico-Nazario; on
July 27, 1990, by this Court’s designation, Judge Constancio H. Alimagno, St,
MCTC, Lumban, Laguna, took over the Biñan MTC; and later still, Hon Pio M.
Pasia was designated Acting Judge of the same MTC at Biñan.

^[3]
It appears that of some 218 “active” cases pending in the sala of
suspended Judge Juliano, 62 had been decided by Judge Pasia (see preceding
fotnote 3) as of February, 1992

^[4]
The record further shows that despite diligent search, the missing records have
not been found.