Philippine Supreme Court Resolutions > Year 2010 > June 2010 Resolutions > [A.M. No. P-10-2805 [Formerly A.M. No. 10-4-57-MCTC] : June 23, 2010] OFFICE OF THE COURT ADMINISTRATOR -VERSUS- LIZA P. CASTILLO, MUNICIPAL CIRCUIT TRIAL COURT, SAN FABIAN, PANGASINAN :

Please take notice that the Court, Third Division, issued a Resolution dated 23 June 2010, which reads as follows:

A.M. No. P-10-2805 [Formerly A.M. No. 10-4-57-MCTC] - Office of the Court Administrator -versus- Liza P. Castillo, Municipal Circuit Trial Court, San Fabian, Pangasinan

R E S O L U T I O N

For consideration are the findings and recommendations of the Office of the Court Administrator (OCA), in its Memorandum dated April 22, 2010, relating to the financial audit of the Municipal Circuit Trial Court (MCTC), San Fabian-San Jacinto, Pangasinan. The OCA's financial audit team, from the Fiscal Monitoring Division of the Court Management Office, found that a huge amount of collections within the period of February 1995 to October 2007 was not deposited; these funds were successively handled by persons appointed as Clerk of Court II in the said court, namely: Victorio A. Dion, Alicia Q. Carrera, and Liza P. Castillo, and by retired Judge Aniceto L. Madronio, Sr. The Court previously required them to file compliance/explanation/comments. In this regard, the OCA reports that:

1. Mr. Dion's explanations/comments to the audit findings, together with the audit team's evaluation of his explanations and its recommendations, were taken up and discussed in a separate report.^[1]
   
   
2. Ms. Carrera made an over withdrawal of P3,000.00, representing a reduced cash bond deposit in Criminal Case No. 3982. She did not file any explanation/comment as she already left for the United States after he resigned from her court position on May 15, 2002.^[2]
   
   
3. Judge Madronio made a withdrawal of cash bond in the amount of P2,000.00 in Criminal Case Nos. 4358-59, without a special power of attorney (SPA). Judge Madronio explained that the bondsman/pay or, who should have issued the SPA, was already residing abroad Judge Madronio redeposited P2,000.00 to the Fiduciary Fund Account on September 23, 2008.^[3]
   
   
4. Ms. Castillo incurred a total shortage of P598,655.10, reduced to P597,l55.10. The FMD withheld her salaries and allowances since August 2006. She expressed her willingness "to deposit all the amounts," subject to a recomputation and the application of the withheld salaries to her accountabilities. However, she offered no explanation for the shortages.^[4]
   

Moreover, Ms. Castillo affixed her signature as Officer-in-Charge (OIC) in (1) the monthly reports of collections, deposits, and withdrawals covering the period of November 2001 to April 2002; and (2) the Supreme Court official receipts starting December 2001, although she was only verbally designated as OIC. She explained that she readily obeyed Judge Madronio's orders since nobody was willing to take on the responsibilities of the OIC. She also made requests that her designation as OIC be formalized but the same were ignored by Judge Madronio.

Further, Ms. Castillo also failed to include the SPA or authorization letter, or to indicate in several acknowledgment receipts (during her tenure as an accountable officer) the date the refund was made, thus precluding anyone from determining if a collection, deposited to and withdrawn from the Fiduciary Fund Account, was promptly returned to the recipient. She explained that the inadvertent omissions were caused by a heavy workload.^[5]

Lastly, she failed to attend to the disbursement vouchers, with a list of estimated expenses pertaining to the service of court processes within the period of January 16, 2006 to March 19, 2007, presented to her by Mr. Diego C. Iglesias. Mr. Iglesias admitted to have received P1,500.00 of the P4,400.00 being claimed in 15 disbursement vouchers. Ms. Castillo explained that she could not attend to these because they were not yet signed by the Presiding Judge, but she gave cash advances anyway (contrary to the audit rules). She gave cash advances to Mr. Iglesias for travel expenses in serving court processes. Ms. Castillo claimed that she had refunded unused deposits to the plaintiffs/petitioners, and requested for time to produce the corresponding acknowledgment receipt for each refund.^[6]

The financial audit team also discovered an unremitted interest of P1,518.69, earned on the Fiduciary Fund Account deposits (with the Land Bank of the Philippines) for the period of July to September 2007. Mr. Romulo L. Visperas, Jr., the court's incumbent OIC, stated that this amount was remitted to the Judiciary Development Fund Account on December 27, 2007.

In view of these findings and considering the Office of the Court Administrator recommendations, the Court resolves to:

1. DIRECT the present Report of the Office of the Court Administrator to be DOCKETED as a regular administrative complaint against Ms. Liza P. Castillo for gross neglect of duty, dishonesty, and grave misconduct in the handling of judiciary funds;
   
   
2. ISSUE a Hold Departure Order against Ms. Liza P. Castillo to prevent her from leaving the country;
   
   
3. DIRECT the Financial Management Office of the Office of the Court Administrator to;
   
   (a) COMPUTE and PROCESS the withheld salaries, ADCOM and PERA (net deductions) and money value of leave credits due to Ms. Liza P. Castillo, DISPENSING with the usual documentary requirements, and APPLY the same to her accountabilities (enumerated below), OBSERVING the following order of preference: Fiduciary Fund, Sheriffs Trust Fund, Judiciary Development Fund, Special Allowance for the Judiciary Fund; and Mediation Fund:
   
   
   
   1. P63,868.62 - Judiciary Development Fund Savings Account No. 0591-0116-34;
      
      
   2. P282,499.98 - Fiduciary Fund Savings Account No. 0821-0415-70;
      
      
   3. P193,286.50 - Special Allowance for the Judiciary Fund Savings Account No. 0591-1744-28;
      
      
   4. P34,000.00 - SC Philja PMC Trust Fund (Rule 141) Savings Account No. 3472-1000-08; and
      
      
   5. P23,500.00 - Fiduciary Fund Savings Account No. 0821-0415-70 or to a Sheriff Trust Fund Account to be opened by the Presiding Judge and the Officer-in-Charge/Clerk of Court with Land Bank of the Philippines, Dagupan City, Pangasinan Branch; and
      
   
   (b) COORDINATE with the Fiscal Monitoring Division (FMD), Court Management Office, Office of the Court Administrator on the release (to the incumbent Office-in-Charge/Clerk of Court) of the checks to be applied to the shortages, in order for the FMD to PROPERLY MONITOR Ms. Liza P. Castillo's restitution of the portion of the deficit not covered by her withheld salaries, ADCOM and PERA (net deductions), and the money value of her leave credits;
   
   
4. DIRECT Ms. Liza P. Castillo to:
   
   (a) MANIFEST, within a non-extendible period often (10) days from receipt of this Resolution, whether she is submitting for decision or resolution the administrative complaint against her for gross neglect of duty, dishonesty, and grave misconduct in the handling of judiciary funds, based on the pleadings submitted; and
   
   (b) DEPOSIT, within a non-extendible period of one (1) month from receipt of this Resolution, the remaining balance of the indicated shortages (to the fund accounts listed above), after Ms. Liza P. Castillo's total withheld salaries, ADCOM, and PERA (net deductions), and the money value of her leave credits had been applied to her accountabilities; and FURNISH the Chief, Fiscal Monitoring Division, Court Management Office, Office of the Court Administrator with copies of the corresponding machine-validated deposit slips;
   
   
5. DIRECT the Office of the Court Administrator to IMMEDIATELY FILE criminal and civil proceedings against Ms. Liza P. Castillo upon receipt of a Report from the Fiscal Monitoring Division, Court Management Office that she failed to restitute the portion of the shortages not covered by her withheld salaries, ADCOM, and PERA (net of deductions), and the money value of her leave credits, within a non-extendible period of one (1) month from her receipt of this resolution (dwelling on her case);
   
   
6. DIRECT Mr. Diego C. Iglesias to:
   
   (a) SUBMIT to the incumbent Officer-in-Charge/Clerk of Court of the MCTC, San Fabian-San Jacinto, Pangasinan, for processing, as reimbursement upon Ms. Liza P. Castillo's restitution of her Sheriffs Trust Fund shortage of P23,500.00, the fifteen (15) disbursement vouchers, with a total amount of P4,400.00 (presented to but not processed by Ms. Liza P. Castillo), which detailed the expenses incurred in the service of court processes for the period of January 16, 2006 to March 19, 2007; and
   
   (b) TAKE INTO ACCOUNT, in the processing of said vouchers, the P1,500.00 that Mr. Iglesias admitted (in his sworn statement of October 16, 2008) having received from Ms. Liza P. Castillo (as partial reimbursement of his traveling expenses);
   
   
7. DIRECT Mr. Romulo L. Visperas, Jr., the court's incumbent OIC, to:
   
   (a) DEPOSIT to the respective fund accounts, as instructed by the Fiscal Monitoring Division, Court Management Office of the Office of the Court Administrator, the checks to be sent to him by the Financial Management Office, OCA, to partially settle Ms. Liza P. Castillo's accountabilities; and FURNISH Ms. Liza P. Castillo and the Chief of the FMD, CMO with copies of the machine-validated deposit slips;
   
   (b) CAUSE the serving of a Summons to Ms. Alicia Q. Carrera at her last known address in order for her to account the over withdrawal of P3,000.00 she made against the Fiduciary Fund Account on July 20, 2001, reflected as follows:
   

   O.R. No./Date	Case No.	Litigants/Payor	Date of Withdrawal/ Amount/Recipient of Refund	Remarks
   8264742/May 18, 2000	3982	PP vs. Emelio L. Abuan, Jr./Pedro C. Flores	July 20, 2001/P10,000/Celma F. Pascua	Collected cash bond of P10,000.00 was reduced by the Judge to P7,000.00. P3,000.00 was refunded on 16 June 2000, leaving a balance of P7,000.00 only. Therefore, there was an overwithdrawal of P3,000.00[7]

   (c) HOLD IN ESCROW the P2,000.00 which was deposited by Judge Aniceto L. Madronio, Sr. to the Fiduciary Fund Account on September 23, 2008, and REFUND the same to him upon his submission to the court's OIC/Clerk of Court and the Chief of the Fiscal Monitoring Division, Court Management Office, OCA of the required Special Power of Attorney supposedly issued by the bondsman in connection with the bond withdrawal listed below:
   

   O.R. No./Date	Case No.	Litigants/Payor	Date of Withdrawal/ Amount/Recipient of Refund	Remarks
   1147782/August 31, 2001	4358-59	PP v. Ador Ulanday/Dr. Eric Lazo	October 2, 2001/P2,000.00/Clarita G. Bati	No SPA/authorization letter

   (d) HOLD IN ESCROW, upon Ms. Liza P. Castillo's restitution of her Fiduciary Fund shortage of P282,499.98, the amount of P34,000.00 (representing the total amount of her withdrawals with lacking supporting documents), which shall be REFUNDED to her partially (on a per case basis) or its entirety upon her presentation of some or all of the missing documents (mentioned underneath) to the court's OIC/Clerk of Court and the Chief of the Fiscal Monitoring Division, Court Management Office, OCA:
   

   O.R. No./Date	Case No.	Litigants/Payor	Date of Withdrawal/ Amount/Recipient of Refund	Remarks
   8264740/May 5, 2000	1067	Armando Gonzales III vs. Lorenzo Maramba/Armando Gonzales III	May 15, 2002/ P10,000.00/Imelda Corisolacion	No SPA/ authorization letter
   11477864/December 10, 2001	4430	PP vs. Noel Cerviza/Emily Canero	August 14, 2003/P2,000.00	No acknowledgment receipt
   8264716/October 8, 1999	3717 3719	PP vs. Emelita Soriano/Emelita Soriano	April 29, 2004/P4,000.00	No acknowledgment receipt
   8264703/July 19, 1999	3544	PP vs. Jaime Aquino/Dionisio Sison	July 28, 2005/P6,000.00	No acknowledgment receipt
   4241227/December 29, 2006	5299	PP vs. Jimmy Recodos/Marilou Recodos	January 2007/P12,000.00/Jimmy Recodos	No acknowledgment letter

   (e) PROCESS as reimbursement, upon Ms. Liza P. Castillo's restitution of her Sheriffs Trust Fund shortage of P23,500.00, the fifteen (15) disbursement vouchers with a total amount of P4,400.00 (presented to but nor probessed by Ms. Liza P. Castillo) which detailed the expenses to be incurred by Mr. Diego C. Iglesias in the service of court processes for the period January 16, 2006 to March 19, 2007; and
   
   (f) TAKE INTO ACCOUNT, in the processing of the disbursement vouchers, the P1,500.00 that Mr. Iglesias admitted (in his sworn affidavit of October 16, 2008) having received from Ms. Liza P. Castillo (as partial reimbursement of his travelling expenses); and
   
   
8. DIRECT Presiding Judge Ma. Theresa D. Guada�a-Tano to:
   
   (a) CLOSELY MONITOR the financial transactions of the court, otherwise, she shall be held equally liable for the transactions committed by the employees under her supervision; and
   
   (b) STUDY and IMPLEMENT procedures that shall strengthen the internal control over financial transactions.
   

SO ORDERED.

Endnotes:

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^[1] Memorandum dated April 22, 2010 of the OCA, p. 1.

^[2] Id. at 1-2.

^[3] Id. at 2.

^[4] Id. at 2-3. Ms. Castillo's unrestituted deficit was reduced by P1,500.00 as Process Server Diego C. Iglesias admitted in a Sworn Affidavit, dated October 16, 2008, that he received P1,500.00 from Ms. Castillo as reimbursement for traveling expenses.

^[5] Id. at 6-7.

^[6] Id. at 7-8.

^[7] Id. at 10.

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OFFICE OF THE COURT ADMINISTRATOR, Complainant, -versus- LIZA P. CASTILLO MUNICIPAL CIRCUIT TRIAL COURT, SAN FABIAN, PANGASINAN, Respondent.

To:

THE HONORABLE SECRETARY
Department of Foreign Affairs
Roxas Boulevard, Pasay City

THE HONORABLE COMMISSIONER
Bureau of Immigration and Deportation
Intramuros, Manila

GREETINGS:

WHEREAS, the Supreme Court on 23 June 2010 adopted a resolution in the above-entitled case, the dispositive portion of which states in part:

In view of these findings and considering the Office of the Court Administrator recommendations, the Court resolves to:

(1)	DIRECT the present Report of the Office of the Court Administrator to be DOCKETED as a regular administrative complaint against Ms. Liza P. Castillo for gross neglect of duty, dishonesty, and grave misconduct in the handling of judiciary funds; and
(2)	ISSUE a HOLD DEPARTURE ORDER against Ms. Liza P. Castillo to prevent her from leaving the country.

x x x

NOW THEREFORE, effective immediately until ordered cancelled by this Court, You, Honorable Secretary of the Department of Foreign Affairs and Commissioner of the Bureau of Immigration and Deportation, your agents, representatives, or persons acting in your place or stead, are hereby ORDERED to HOLD the departure of Ms. Liza P. Castillo from the country.

Ms. Castillo was born on May 22, 1967 with office address at Municipal Circuit Trial Court, San Fabian, Pangasinan.

Given by the authority of the HONORABLE CONCHITA CARPIO MORALES, Chairman of the Third Division of the Supreme Court of the Philippines, this 23^rd day of June, Two Thousand and Ten.