Philippine Supreme Court Resolutions > Year 2010 > August 2010 Resolutions > [A.M. No. 10-7-09-CA : August 24, 2010] RE: FREQUENT UNAUTHORIZED ABSENCES OF MR. AUGUSTO T. ALBA, CLERK III, CA :

Please take notice that the Court en banc issued a Resolution dated AUGUST 24, 2010, which reads as follows:

"A.M. No. 10-7-09-CA (RE: Frequent Unauthorized Absences of Mr. Augusto T. Alba, Clerk III, CA)

R E S O L U T I O N

This treats of the letter dated June 9, 2010 of Juanita P. Tibayan-Castro, Chief Judicial Staff Officer, Personnel Division of the Court of Appeals (CA) to Presiding Justice Andres B. Reyes, Jr. of the CA, regarding the frequent unauthorized absences of Augusto T. Alba, Clerk III, Judicial Records Division of the same court, from January to December 2009 and from January to February 2010.^[1]

In her letter, Tibayan-Castro attached the following report of the absences and tardiness of Alba based on the records of the Personnel Division:

1st Semester (January - June 2009)

MONTH	VLOP	SLOP	No. of days Present	No. of days absent w/pay	Tardines s
January	0.5 day	-	17 days	3.0 days	9
February	1.5 days	-	19 days	1.0 day	12
March	2.5 days	4.5 days	14 days	1.0 day	9
April	1.0 day	3.5 days	14 days	1.0 day	8
May	0.5 day	1.5 days	17 days	1.0 day	9
June	3.0 days	3.0 days	11 days	1.0 day	9
Total	9.0 days	12.5 days

2^nd Semester (July - December 2009)

MONTH	VLOP	SLOP	No. of days Present	No. of days absent w/pay	Tardines s
July	0.5 day	4.0 days	20 days	1.0 days	9
August	-	-	17 days	1.0 day	9
September	-	2.0 days	17 days	2.0 days	9
October	-	-	19 days	2.0 days	8
November	0.5 day	4.0 days	16 days	1.0 day	9
December	4.5 days	-	14 days	1.0 day	9
Total	5.5 days	10.0 days

** no filed leave since October [2009]

(January - April 2010)

MONTH	VLOP	SLOP	No. of days Present	No. of days absent w/pay	Tardines s
January	3.0 days	-	13 days	4.0 days	12
February	9.5 days	-	10 days	1.0 day	9
March	7.5 days	-	15 days	1.0 day	7
April	4.0 days	-	15 days	1.0 day	9
TOTAL	24.0 days

Under Section 22(q), Rule XIV of the Civil Service Commission's Omnibus Rules Implementing Book V of Executive Order No. 292 (CSC Rules), "[a]n officer or employee in the civil service shall be considered habitually absent if he incurs unauthorized absences exceeding the allowable 2.5 days monthly leave credit under the Leave Law for at least three (3) months in a semester or at least three (3) consecutive months during the year."

Alba incurred more than 2.5 days of unauthorized absences per month for three months in the first and second semesters of 2009, as well as in the months of January to April of this year. As borne by the records, Alba had unauthorized absences of 7.0 days in March 2009, 4.5 days in April 2009, 6.0 days in June 2009, and 4.5 days in July 2009, November 2009 and December 2009. For the current year, he had unauthorized absences of 3.0 days in January, 9.5 days in February, 7.5 days in March, and 4.0 days in April. Tibayan-Castro likewise reported that Alba had not filed any application for leave since October 2009.

It is undisputed, therefore, under the CSC Rules and from the report of the Personnel Division of the CA, that Alba had been habitually absent.

Presiding Justice Reyes, Jr., in his 1st Indorsement dated June 10, 2010 to this Court, recommended the imposition of suspension for six (6) months.

We should modify the recommended penalty.

Under Sec. 22(q) of the CSC Rules, incurring frequent unauthorized absences is a grave offense punishable by suspension for six (6) months and one (1) day to one (1) year for the first offense, and dismissal for the second offense.

It must be stressed that frequent unauthorized absences without authorization is inimical to public service, and for this the respondent must be meted the proper penalty. Indeed, even with the fullest measure of sympathy and patience, the Court cannot act otherwise since the exigencies of government service cannot and should never be subordinated to purely human equations.^[2] The conduct and behavior of everyone connected with an office charged with the dispensation of justice are circumscribed with the heavy burden of responsibility, and this Court cannot countenance any act or omission of all those involved in the administration of justice, because that would violate the norm of public accountability and diminish or even just tend to diminish the faith of the people in the Judiciary.

WHEREFORE, Augusto T. Alba, Clerk III of the Judicial Records Division, CA, is found GUILTY of HABITUAL ABSENTEEISM. He is hereby SUSPENDED for a period of six (6) months and one (1) day without pay, with WARNING that subsequent-like infractions shall be dealt with more severely."

Endnotes:

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^[1] Juanita P. Tibayan-Castro, however, included the months of March and April 2010 in her report.

^[2] Re: Unauthorized Absences of Karen R. Cuenca, Clerk II, Property Division-Office of Administrative Services, A.M. No. 2005-03-SC, March 15, 2005, 453 SCRA 403, 409.