September 1981 - Philippine Supreme Court Decisions/Resolutions
Philippine Supreme Court Jurisprudence
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A.M. No. P-2234-MJ September 25, 1981 - BERNARDO O. LAMBOLOTO v. ZACARIAS Y. GARCIA:
FIRST DIVISION
[A.M. No. P-2234-MJ. September 25, 1981.]
BERNARDO O. LAMBOLOTO, Complainant, v. HON. ZACARIAS Y. GARCIA, Respondent.
SYNOPSIS
In a complaint dated July 23, 1979, complainant charged respondent municipal judge with failure to decide a land registration case for about three (3) years after having been submitted for decision. Respondent explained that he was under the impression that the said case was related to another land registration case assigned to him when the presiding judge inhibited himself from hearing them, so that he held in abeyance action on the subject case while trying the other. The records revealed that respondent decided the case only on July 14, 1981, or almost five (5) years after it was submitted for decision, and that he had collected his salaries and filed falsified certification of disposition of cases during the entire period that he had not decided the same.
The Supreme Court found no justification for the delay and imposed upon him a penalty of fine equivalent to his salary for three (3) months for undue delay in deciding the case and for submitting falsified certification of disposition of cases.
The Supreme Court found no justification for the delay and imposed upon him a penalty of fine equivalent to his salary for three (3) months for undue delay in deciding the case and for submitting falsified certification of disposition of cases.
SYLLABUS
CONSTITUTIONAL LAW; ADMINISTRATIVE SUPERVISION OF COURTS; ADMINISTRATIVE COMPLAINT; UNDUE DELAY IN DECIDING A CASE. — A municipal judge who decided a case only after almost five (5) years from the time it was submitted for decision, and who collected his salaries and falsified his certification of disposition of cases during the entire period that he had not decided the case is guilty of undue delay in deciding a case and of submitting a falsified certification of disposition of cases. He should be imposed the penalty of a fine equivalent to his salary for three (3) months with a warning that a repetition of the same or a similar offense will be dealt with more severely.
D E C I S I O N
FERNANDEZ, J.:
In an affidavit-complaint dated July 23, 1979 Felipe O. Lamboloto charged Municipal Judge Zacarias Y. Garcia of Pinamalayan, Oriental Mindoro with failure to decide for about three years Registration Case, LRC No. 30428, LRC No. P-7, which was assigned to the respondent for trial and decision in view of the inhibition of the incumbent judge, despite the fact that the said case was submitted since August 27, 1976. 1
In his comment submitted on September 12, 1979, the respondent Municipal Judge Zacarias Y. Garcia explained that he was designated to try and decide two land registration cases, namely, LRC No. 30428, LRC No. P-7 and LRC No. P-6, GLRO No. 30449, Martina Ornedo applicant when the Municipal Judge of Pinamalayan, Oriental Mindoro inhibited himself from acting on the said cases; that until the receipt of the letter of Arturo M. Manalo, Clerk of Court of the Court of First Instance of Oriental Mindoro, the respondent was under the impression that the two (2) cases were related and since LRC No. 30449, LRC No. P-6 was still pending trial, LRC No. 30428, LRC No. P-7 should be held in abeyance; and that due to many cases filed and pending in his court, in addition to cases which were delegated to him for trial and for the reception of evidence, the respondent inadvertently failed to concentrate on LRC No. 30428, LRC No. P-7. 2
It appears that LRC No. 30428, LRC No. P-7 was decided only on July 14, 1981, almost five (5) years after it was submitted for decision. The office of the Court Administrator has verified that the respondent judge had collected his salaries and filed falsified certification of disposition of cases during the entire period that he had not decided LRC No. 30428, LRC No. P-7. 3
There is no justification for the delay.
Under the established facts of the case, the respondent judge should be imposed the penalty of a fine equivalent to his salary for three (3) months with the warning that a repetition of the same or a similar offense will be dealt with more severely.chanrobles.com.ph : virtual law library
WHEREFORE, the respondent, Municipal Judge Zacarias Y. Garcia, is hereby found guilty of undue delay in deciding Land Registration Case, LRC No. 30428, LRC No. P-7 and of submitting a falsified certification of disposition of cases and is imposed a fine equivalent to his salary for three (3) months with the warning that a repetition of the same or a similar offense will be dealt with more severely.
Let this decision be made of record in the personal record of the respondent in this Court.
SO ORDERED.
Makasiar (Acting Chairman), Guerrero, De Castro and Melencio-Herrera, JJ., concur.
In his comment submitted on September 12, 1979, the respondent Municipal Judge Zacarias Y. Garcia explained that he was designated to try and decide two land registration cases, namely, LRC No. 30428, LRC No. P-7 and LRC No. P-6, GLRO No. 30449, Martina Ornedo applicant when the Municipal Judge of Pinamalayan, Oriental Mindoro inhibited himself from acting on the said cases; that until the receipt of the letter of Arturo M. Manalo, Clerk of Court of the Court of First Instance of Oriental Mindoro, the respondent was under the impression that the two (2) cases were related and since LRC No. 30449, LRC No. P-6 was still pending trial, LRC No. 30428, LRC No. P-7 should be held in abeyance; and that due to many cases filed and pending in his court, in addition to cases which were delegated to him for trial and for the reception of evidence, the respondent inadvertently failed to concentrate on LRC No. 30428, LRC No. P-7. 2
It appears that LRC No. 30428, LRC No. P-7 was decided only on July 14, 1981, almost five (5) years after it was submitted for decision. The office of the Court Administrator has verified that the respondent judge had collected his salaries and filed falsified certification of disposition of cases during the entire period that he had not decided LRC No. 30428, LRC No. P-7. 3
There is no justification for the delay.
Under the established facts of the case, the respondent judge should be imposed the penalty of a fine equivalent to his salary for three (3) months with the warning that a repetition of the same or a similar offense will be dealt with more severely.chanrobles.com.ph : virtual law library
WHEREFORE, the respondent, Municipal Judge Zacarias Y. Garcia, is hereby found guilty of undue delay in deciding Land Registration Case, LRC No. 30428, LRC No. P-7 and of submitting a falsified certification of disposition of cases and is imposed a fine equivalent to his salary for three (3) months with the warning that a repetition of the same or a similar offense will be dealt with more severely.
Let this decision be made of record in the personal record of the respondent in this Court.
SO ORDERED.
Makasiar (Acting Chairman), Guerrero, De Castro and Melencio-Herrera, JJ., concur.
Endnotes:
1. Rollo, p. 2
2. Rollo, pp. 22-23
3. Report of Deputy Court Administrator Arturo B. Buena, dated August 26, 1981.
