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EN BANC

Sirs/Mesdames:

Quoted hereunder, for your information, is a resolution of this Court dated NOV 15 2005 .

A.M. No. P-03-1736 ( OFFICE OF THE COURT ADMINISTRATOR vs. CLERK OF COURT MA. LUISA V. LISING and INTERPRETER/FORMER OIC DELIA C. FERNANDEZ, Municipal Trial Court, Angono, Rizal.)

On March 8, 2005 , this Court promulgated a resolution in this case dismissing respondent MTC Angono Clerk of Court Ma. Luisa V. Lising and suspending Interpreter/Former OIC Delia C. Fernandez. The dispositive portion of that resolution follows.

WHEREFORE, MA. LUISA V. LISING is hereby found GUILTY of dishonesty. Her resignation is deemed withdrawn and she is ordered DISMISSED from the service with forfeiture of all separation benefits except earned leaves, if any, and with prejudice to re-employment in any branch or agency of the government including government-owned or controlled corporations.

DELIA S. FERNANDEZ, on the other hand, is hereby found GUILTY of inefficiency and incompetence in the performance of official duties and is meted the penalty of SUSPENSION for six months and one day without pay, with a warning that a repetition of the same or similar acts in the future will be dealt with more severely.

SO ORDERED.

Pursuant to this resolution, it is crucial that certain offices and individuals perform their respective roles for the proper implementation of this judgment.

Respondent Lising herself, in her affidavit dated October 3, 2003 , requested that her terminal leave pay be applied to her incurred shortage of P152,000. According to the agenda report of the Office of the Court Administrator (OCA) dated February 11, 2004, which in turn cites the court records, respondent Lising's accumulated leave credits as of December 28, 2000 total 410.668 days, the total monetary value of which is P326,593.06. The Financial Management Office of the OCA should therefore verify from all available records if this is indeed the exact monetary equivalent of respondent's leave credits as of December 29, 2000 , the date on which, according to her letter to Presiding Judge Rosa S. Tatad, she effectively stopped working at the MTC-Angono, and to apply the same to her shortage.

Secondly, respondent Fernandez, in addition to serving out her penalty of suspension, likewise bears the responsibility of restituting her own shortage in the Fiduciary Fund totaling P57,800. Ten days from receipt of this resolution should be sufficient time for her to comply with this directive, assuming she has not already done so.

Finally, in the light of the seriousness of respondent Lising's offense, the appropriate office should, as soon as possible, look into the possibility of prosecuting her for a criminal offense as well. Therefore, the matter of filing criminal case(s) against respondent Lising for her acts of malversation should be referred to the Department of Justice for its consideration.

WHEREFORE, the Court hereby:

1)� DIRECTS the Financial Management Office, OCA to COMPUTE the exact monetary value of the terminal leave credits of respondent Ma. Luisa V. Lising and to APPLY this amount to the shortage incurred by her in the amount of P152,000.

2)� DIRECTS respondent Delia C. Fernandez to RESTITUTE the shortage she incurred in the amount of P57,800 by depositing the same in the existing account of MTC, Angono, Rizal, with the Land Bank of the Philippines under SA No. 2391-0092-39 within 10 days from receipt of this resolution, and to SUBMIT to the Office of the Court Administrator the copy of the validated deposit slip as proof of its remittance; and

3)� REFERS to the Department of Justice the matter of filing criminal charge(s) against respondent Maria Luisa V. Lising.

Sandoval-Gutierrez, J., on official leave.

Chico-Nazario, J., on leave.

Very truly yours,

(Sgd.) MA. LUISA D. VILLARAMA

Clerk of Court

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