April 2016 - Philippine Supreme Court Decisions/Resolutions
Philippine Supreme Court Jurisprudence
A.M. No. 15-09-314-RTC, April 19, 2016 - RE: EVALUATION OF ADMINISTRATIVE LIABILITY OF HON. ANTONIO C. LUBAO, BRANCH 22, REGIONAL TRIAL COURT, GENERAL SANTOS CITY, WHO COMPULSORILY RETIRED ON JANUARY 13, 2015, IN CONNECTION WITH THE CASES SUBJECT OF THE JUDICIAL AUDIT CONDUCTED THEREAT FROM MAY 19-22, 2014, AND OTHER RELEVANT DIRECTIVES ISSUED BY THE OFFICE OF THE COURT ADMINISTRATOR.
EN BANC
A.M. No. 15-09-314-RTC, April 19, 2016
RE: EVALUATION OF ADMINISTRATIVE LIABILITY OF HON. ANTONIO C. LUBAO, BRANCH 22, REGIONAL TRIAL COURT, GENERAL SANTOS CITY, WHO COMPULSORILY RETIRED ON JANUARY 13, 2015, IN CONNECTION WITH THE CASES SUBJECT OF THE JUDICIAL AUDIT CONDUCTED THEREAT FROM MAY 19-22, 2014, AND OTHER RELEVANT DIRECTIVES ISSUED BY THE OFFICE OF THE COURT ADMINISTRATOR.
D E C I S I O N
BRION, J.:
For this Court's consideration is the Memorandum1 dated September 11, 2015 from the Office of the Court Administrator (OCA) on the administrative liability of Hon. Antonio C. Lubao (Judge Lubao) of the Regional Trial Court (RTC), Branch 22, General Santos City, in connection with the cases subject of the judicial audit and physical inventory conducted by the OCA on his court from May 19 to 22, 2014. The judicial audit was conducted in anticipation of Judge Lubao's compulsory retirement on January 13, 2015.
From the audit and inventory conducted by the OCA, the number of pending cases and matters discovered were: sixty-eight (68) cases submitted for decision, sixty-one (61) cases already beyond the reglementary period to decide, forty-one (41) cases with pending incidents, twenty-nine (29) cases already beyond the prescribed period to resolve, forty-one (41) cases have yet to be acted upon (composed of seven [7] newly-filed cases and cases with no initial action taken, thirty-two [32] cases with no further action, and two [2] cases with no further setting), one hundred fifty-one (151) court processes (six [6] in civil cases and one hundred forty-five [145] in criminal cases)