CA voids ombudsman ruling on Villa-Ignacio case

MANILA, Philippines - The Court of Appeals (CA) has voided the 2009 decision of the Office of the Ombudsman on the administrative case against former Special Prosecutor Dennis Villa-Ignacio.

In a 20-page decision promulgated last Feb. 20 but released earlier this week, the CA’s Fourth Division reversed and set aside the ombudsman’s dismissal order against Villa-Ignacio over charges of serious dishonesty and conduct prejudicial to the best interest of the service.

The CA ordered the dismissal of the administrative case against the former ombudsman official as it struck down the Dec. 3, 2009 decision and Jan. 29, 2010 supplemental order of then Ombudsman Merceditas Gutierrez.

The court held that the ombudsman erred in considering the failure of Villa-Ignacio to disclose in his 2005 personal data sheet the administrative case wherein he was meted a reprimand by the Supreme Court (SC) as an act constituting betrayal of public trust.

The SC issued a reprimand in 2001 over Villa-Ignacio’s unreasonable delay in resolving a motion for reconsideration in a case filed before him when he was a Makati judge in 1997.

The CA, in a ruling penned by Associate Justice Priscilla Baltazar-Padilla, said only betrayal of public trust, culpable violation of the Constitution, treason, bribery, graft and corruption or other high crimes could be used as ground for removal from office of the special prosecutor.

The accessory penalties of cancellation of eligibility, forfeiture of retirement benefits and perpetual disqualification for re-employment in the government service imposed by the ombudsman on Villa-Ignacio “should be vacated in view of the foregoing disquisitions,” the CA added.

But the court no longer touched on the penalty of his dismissal, saying it is already moot since his term in office had lapsed. 

Associate Justices Hakim Abdulwahid and Socorro Inting concurred in this ruling.