After ten years of working in the Court of Appeals, records officer Aurora P. Santos was appointed permanent employee after she presented a certificate of civil service eligibility, but lately she was fired by the Supreme Court for dishonesty.
In a decision penned by Chief Justice Artemio Panganiban, the SC ruled that Santos has no place in the government service because it was another person who took and passed the eligibility examination for her.
The dismissal of Santos was based on the authentication by the Records Management Office of the Civil Service Commission where it was noted that "Aurora P. Santos" referred to in the Picture Seat Plan of the examinees was a male.
Santos admitted that in 1994 she solicited the help of fixers after repeatedly failing the civil service examination. She insisted though that she was unaware of the scheme employed by the fixers of having another person to take the examination in her place.
She joined the Court of Appeals in 1984 as a temporary employee due to the absence of the civil service eligibility.
The Supreme Court has concurred with the findings of the Civil Service Commission who ordered Santos dismissed from government service.
"The evidence, coupled with Santos' admission, sufficiently established her dishonesty and grave misconduct. It is clear that she knew all along that her certificate of eligibility was spurious and was obtained through illegal means," Panganiban said.
The SC ruling states that "The Code of Conduct for Court Personnel stresses that employees of the judiciary serve as sentinels of justice and any act of impropriety on their part immeasurably affects the honor and dignity of the Judiciary and the people's confidence in it.
"Every employee of the judiciary should be an example of integrity, uprightness and honesty. Like any public servant, he must exhibit the highest sense of honesty and integrity not only in the performance of his official duties but in his personal and private dealings with other people, to preserve the court's good name and standing," the ruling further read. - Rene U. Borromeo