SC dismisses Butuan court employee

MANILA, Philippines — A clerk at the Butuan City regional trial court has been dismissed from the service for grave misconduct.

Michael Vincent Ozon was accused of asking P25,000 in exchange for the release of a certificate of finality in the declaration of nullity of marriage case of a complainant, the SC public information office said in a statement.

Executive Judge Augustus Calo said investigation showed that a litigant had earlier complained that her certificate of finality was not issued even though she gave P500 to Ozon for its release.

Calo said sworn statements from two people bared that Ozon offered “facilitation services” in declaration of nullity cases.

Ozon reportedly promised to expedite the processing of certificates of finality, which normally take months, in exchange for P5,000.

“His denial and sophistry cannot defeat the substantial evidence on record consisting of sworn statements, which were corroborated by the factual findings of the Judicial Integrity Board that Ozon mailed the OSG copies of the decisions in 10 declaration of nullity cases,” it said, referring to the Office of the Solicitor General.

The SC said it “found elements of corruption and clear intent to violate the law” in Ozon’s action.