SC sacks cash clerk, suspends RTC judge

The Supreme Court has dismissed from the service a cash clerk of the Cabanatuan City regional trial court (RTC) for dishonesty and grave misconduct after she admitted misappropriating more than half a million pesos allegedly to help an ailing sister.

In a 13-page decision, the SC also ordered cash clerk III Librada Puno to return the P600,051.81 she had taken to the Sheriff Judicial Development Fund and P1,000 to the Sheriff General Fund (now the Special Allowance for the Judiciary).

The SC forfeited all of Puno’s retirement benefits, excluding her accrued leave credits, and ordered her perpetual disqualification from re-employment in government.

In a separate resolution, the SC placed Angeles City RTC Branch 60 Judge Ofelia Tuazon Pinto and her officer-in-charge, Raquel Clarin, under preventive suspension pending the completion of a judicial audit of pending cases and a special audit of family court cases pending in Pinto’s sala.

The SC also revoked the designation of Pinto’s sala as a special court for family court cases and Clarin’s designation as OIC.

The SC instead designated Angeles City RTC Branch 59, presided over by Executive Judge Angelica Paras-Quiambao, to handle family court cases.