April 2016 - Philippine Supreme Court Decisions/Resolutions
Philippine Supreme Court Jurisprudence
A.M. No. RTJ-14-2385 [Formerly A.M. No. 14-4-115-RTC], April 20, 2016 - OFFICE OF THE COURT ADMINISTRATOR, Petitioner, v. JUDGE ROMEO B. CASALAN, [FORMERLY A.M. NO. 14-4-115-RTC (REPORT ON THE FINANCIAL AUDIT CONDUCTED IN THE REGIONAL TRIAL COURT [RTC], BRANCHES 13 AND 65, CULASI AND BUGASONG, ANTIQUE, Respondent.
THIRD DIVISION
A.M. No. RTJ-14-2385 [Formerly A.M. No. 14-4-115-RTC], April 20, 2016
OFFICE OF THE COURT ADMINISTRATOR, Petitioner, v. JUDGE ROMEO B. CASALAN, [FORMERLY A.M. NO. 14-4-115-RTC (REPORT ON THE FINANCIAL AUDIT CONDUCTED IN THE REGIONAL TRIAL COURT [RTC], BRANCHES 13 AND 65, CULASI AND BUGASONG, ANTIQUE, Respondent.
D E C I S I O N
PERALTA, J.:
This administrative matter arose from the judicial audit and inventory of cases conducted on August 7 and 8, 2012 in the Regional Trial Court (RTC) of Culasi, Antique, Branch 13 and the RTC of Bugasong, Antique, Branch 65, both presided over by the Hon. Romeo B. Casalan as regular judge and acting presiding judge, respectively.
In a Memorandum1 dated August 30, 2012, the Judicial Audit Team of the Office of the Court Administrator (OCA) reported that as of August 8, 2012, Branch 13, the regular court of Judge Casalan, has a caseload of Two Hundred and Twelve (212) pending cases, comprising of Eighty-nine (89) criminal cases and One Hundred and Twenty-Three (123) civil and other cases. The team made the following findings and observations:
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1. Fifteen (15) criminal cases and Thirty (33) civil and other cases are submitted for decision beyond the Ninety (90)-day reglementary period to decide them;
2. Four (4) criminal cases and Twenty-five (25) civil and other cases have pending motions/incidents which are submitted for resolution beyond the mandatory period to resolve them;
3. Six (6) criminal cases and Thirteen (13) civil and other cases have no further setting or action for at least One (1) month from the date of the last court action/setting;
4. A criminal case and a civil case have not been acted upon since the time the information and the complaint were filed in court;
5. Ten (10) cases have been pending in the docket of the court for 10 years or more; Seven (7) cases for Nine (9) years and 3 cases for Eight (8) years;
6. Case records do not contain an index of case events and are not stitched;
7. Pleadings, orders, notices, minutes of court sessions, returns and other relevant papers or documents are not immediately attached to the case folders or expediente;
8. Some pleadings and court orders/issuances are merely inserted in the case folders;
9. Cases for Declaration of Nullity of Marriages are docketed as special civil action;
10.