SC suspends two judges, fines four others
The Supreme Court recently suspended two judges and imposed fines on four others for ignorance of the law, negligence and inefficiency.
In a statement, the SC said they also imposed administrative sanctions on two clerks of court and a sheriff.
“When the judge himself becomes the transgressor of the law which he is sworn to apply, he places his office in disrepute, encourages disrespect for the law and impairs public confidence in the integrity of the judiciary itself,” the SC said.
Court records showed that Judge Henry Avelino of the Municipal Circuit Trial Court (MCTC) of Pontevedra, Capiz was suspended for three months without salary and benefits.
Avelino was found guilty of gross inefficiency for the third time.
Avelino failed to render a decision on a case for more than five months and later inhibited himself from the said case, the resulting delay of which was in violation of the reglementary 90-day period fixed by the Constitution and the law, the SC cited.
The SC said Avelino’s “lackadaisical attitude… clearly shows his utter disregard of settled rules and jurisprudence.”
On the other hand, Judge Eddie Rojas of the Regional Trial Court (RTC) Branch 37 of General Santos City was suspended for three months without salary and benefits.
The SC found Rojas guilty of gross ignorance of the law after he issued an injunctive writ and a 20-day temporary restraining order (TRO) instead of the 72-hour TRO asked for to enjoin a final and executory decision of the Housing and Land Regulatory Board (HLURB) in a civil case.
Records showed that Rojas also failed to implead as party-defendants the real parties-in-interest who prevailed in the HLURB decision, in disregard of the rule that if a suit is not brought against the real party-in-interest, a motion to dismiss may be filed for lack of cause of action.
The SC also said Rojas was fined P10,000 earlier for failing to inhibit himself for almost one-and-a-half years from a criminal case where he previously appeared as public prosecutor.
Judges fined
The four other judges who were penalized by the Supreme Court were Judges Anastacio Rufon, Reynaldo Alon, Dionisio Sison, and Ricardo Agapito.
Rufon, acting presiding judge of RTC Branch 51 of Bacolod City, was fined P10,000 after he was found guilty of gross ignorance of the law for his failure to cause actual service of notice of hearing to the adverse parties in a petition for cancellation of notice of embargo, and for his failure to require the parties to the petition to present evidence to prove or disprove prescription as a defense.
Alon, judge of RTC Branch 40 of Silay City, was fined P10,000 for gross negligence after he submitted his investigation report and recommendation on an administrative case almost three years after it was assigned to him by the court.
Sison, acting presiding judge of RTC Branch 74 of Antipolo City, was fined P10,000 for gross ignorance of the law after adjudging the plaintiffs in a case guilty of indirect contempt.
Agapito, judge of Municipal Trial Court in Cities (MTCC) of Laur, Nueva Ecija, was fined P20,000 for gross neglect after he failed to act on a motion for his inhibition from a case from September 2000 up to the time of his retirement on
The SC also ordered the dismissal of an
Renan Villanueva Pamposa, clerk of court II of the Passi City MTCC, was found to have incurred shortages in the Fiduciary Fund, the Judiciary Development Fund and the General Fund of the Passi City MTCC amounting to P1,044,312.62.
Also subjected to administrative sanctions was Gitanjali Bondoc, clerk of court V of RTC Branch 12 of Manila, who was admonished to be more circumspect in dealing with her subordinates.
The court found that she made malicious accusations against a legal researcher without substantial evidence.
Meanwhile, Bernabe Castro, sheriff IV of RTC Branch 24 of Echague, Isabela, was fined equivalent to his two-month salary after he was found guilty of simple neglect of duty and violation of the Rules of Court and the Code of Conduct and Ethical Standards for Public Officials and Employees.
Records said Castro received a bribe from a complainant to enforce a writ of execution, in violation of the Rules of Court.
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