Philippine Supreme Court Resolutions > Year 2010 > July 2010 Resolutions > [A.M. No. P-08-2457 : July 21, 2010] OFFICE OF THE COURT ADMINISTRATOR V. ANGEL P. BUNGGAY, PROCESS SERVER, AND MERIALISA SALVADOR, REGIONAL TRIAL COURT, OCC, APARRI, CAGAYAN :

Please take notice that the Court, Second Division, issued a Resolution dated 21 July 2010 which reads as follows:

A.M. No. P-08-2457 (Office of the Court Administrator v. Angel P. Bunggay, Process Server, and Merialisa Salvador, Regional Trial Court, OCC, Aparri, Cagayan).-

On November 5, 2007 Romeo C. Sapine, a security guard at the Regional Trial Court in Aparri, Cagayan, caught respondent Angel P. Bunggay punching in Merialisa Salvador's timecard for her. Sapine said that this was the second time he had done this. Upon investigation by the Executive Judge, Bunggay explained that he merely made a mistake because he was in a hurry and had a poor night's sleep. He denied that it was the second time he had done it.^[1] In his Investigation Report to the Office of the Court Administrator, the Executive Judge did not give credence to Bunggay's claim of honest mistake and recommended his suspension for 90 days.^[2]

At the separate investigation of her possible liability for letting Bunggay punch in her timecard, Salvador denied having asked him to do it for her. She also presented certifications that she was on field work as the court's social worker on the dates marked as "O.B." in her timecard. She admitted, however, that there were days in May 2008 when she entered "O.B." while attending to personal matters. The Executive Judge recommended disciplining Salvador for inducing Bunggay to punch in her timecard and warning her against using official time for personal matters.^[3]

The Court is inclined to adopt the findings of the Executive Judge with respect to Bunggay. The latter could not have mistaken Salvador's timecard for his own since her name was written on it by marking pen in big and bold letters. Besides, he did not do anything to rectify his supposed accidental punching in of her card. Notably, the security guard had once before caught Bunggay doing it. The security guard's assertion appears more credible since he does not appear to have been prompted by ill will or spite.

In Salvador's case, although no direct evidence was adduced to show that she requested Bunggay to punch in her timecard for her, the fact that she did nothing to rectify the false entry in her timecard is evidence that she allowed or requested it. Further, she admittedly stated in her timecard that she was doing official business on certain dates in May 2008 although she was actually attending to private matters.

Ordinarily, the offenses that Bunggay and Salvador committed would under the Civil Service Circular warrant their dismissal from the service. But, in Irregularities in the Use of Logbook and Daily Time Records by Clerk of Court Raquel DJ; Razon, Cash Clerk Joel M Magtuloy and Utility Worker Tiburcio O. Morales, MTC-OCC, Guagua, Pampanga,^[4]  the Court had occasion to temper the harshness of such rules, the respondents being first offenders.

WHEREFORE, the Court finds respondents Angel P. Bunggay and Merialisa Salvador liable for tampering with the entries in the latter's timecard. Approving the Executive Judge's recommendation, the Court imposes on them the penalty of suspension for 90 days with stern warning that a repetition of the Same or similar acts shall be dealt with more severely.

SO ORDERED.
 
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Endnotes:

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^[1] Rollo, pp. 1, 10,13-15.

^[2] Id. at 10-11.
 
^[3] Id. at 21-23.
 
^[4] A.M. No. P-06-2243, September 26, 2006, 503 SCRA 52.