{"id":98531,"date":"2017-04-16T04:07:47","date_gmt":"2017-04-16T08:07:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/?p=98531"},"modified":"2017-04-16T04:07:47","modified_gmt":"2017-04-16T08:07:47","slug":"sc-dismisses-errant-legal-researcher","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/2017\/04\/16\/sc-dismisses-errant-legal-researcher\/","title":{"rendered":"SC dismisses errant legal researcher"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"The<\/a>
The Supreme Court ordered a legal researcher in Regional Trial Court (RTC) of Silay City, Negros Occidental, dismissed from service for grave misconduct and conduct prejudicial to the best interest of service. (Photo: Supreme Court of the Philippines\/\/Facebook)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

MANILA\u2013The Supreme Court ordered a legal researcher in Regional Trial Court (RTC) of Silay City, Negros Occidental, dismissed from service for grave misconduct and conduct prejudicial to the best interest of service.<\/p>\n

In a 12-page resolution, the High Court ordered the forfeiture of all retirement benefits of May N. Laspi\u00f1as, legal researcher and officer-in-charge of Silay City RTC Branch 40, except her accrued leave credits, and her disqualification from re-employment in any branch or agency of the government, including government-owned or controlled corporations.<\/p>\n

The order stemmed from a letter-complaint dated November 21, 2008 of Judge Felipe G. Banzon of Branch 69, RTC of Silay City against Laspi\u00f1as. Banzon alleged that Laspi\u00f1as openly defied his directive for the latter to vacate the area she was occupying in the Office of the Clerk of Court of the Silay City RTC and transfer to the premises of Branch 40, RTC.<\/p>\n

Banzon also claimed that Laspi\u00f1as confronted him in an abusive and hostile manner, \u201cmenacingly pointing her forefinger at him, and hurling curses and invectives,\u201d and that Laspi\u00f1as had gained notoriety in the judicial district as the person who could broker and fix problems in the court for a fee.<\/p>\n

Acting on the investigation report submitted by Executive Judge Dyna Doll Chiongson-Trocio of the Silay City RTC, the Office of the Court Administrator (OCA) recommended that Laspi\u00f1as be dismissed for grave misconduct and conduct prejudicial to the best interest of the service.<\/p>\n

The OCA reasoned that Laspi\u00f1as\u2019 acts of soliciting or receiving money from litigants — by preparing petitions for a fee — and withdrawing without authority publication fees constitute grave misconduct that warranted her dismissal from service, for violation of Sec. 4, Canon I, and Sec. 2 (b) and (e) of the Code of Conduct for Court Personnel, which prohibits court personnel from securing for themselves of for others any benefit or advantage through their official position or in the performance of their functions.<\/p>\n

The OCA also noted that Laspi\u00f1as was likewise charged with grave misconduct and serious dishonesty as well as violation of RA 6317 (Code of Conduct and Ethical Standards for Public Officials) in two separate administrative complaints: the first of which stemmed from her act of misappropriating publication fees in several cases pending before Branch 40, RTC, while the second involved Laspi\u00f1as and another court personnel\u2019s act of preparing pleadings a complainant and demanding PHP9,000 from the same to facilitate the filing of a petition.<\/p>\n

Agreeing with the findings and recommendations of the OCA, the Supreme Court held that the acts of Laspi\u00f1as complained of \u201cclearly show her flagrant disregard of the laws and the rules, and serve to validate the various allegations and rumors of her proclivity to corruption.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAs a public servant, Laspi\u00f1as is expected at all times to exhibit the highest sense of honesty, integrity, and responsibility that the Constitution, under Article XI, Section 1 mandates,\u201d said the Court.<\/p>\n

\u201cMoreover, as a court employee, she ought to have been well aware of the high standards of propriety and decorum expected of employees in the judiciary as \u2018any act of impropriety on their part immeasurably affects the honor and dignity of the Judiciary and the people\u2019s confidence in it,\u201d the Court added.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis Court has never wavered in its vigilance in eradicating the so-called \u2018bad eggs\u2019 in the judiciary, and, whenever warranted by the gravity of the offense, the supreme penalty of dismissal in an administrative case is meted to erring personnel,\u201d it said.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

MANILA\u2013The Supreme Court ordered a legal researcher in Regional Trial Court (RTC) of Silay City, Negros Occidental, dismissed from service …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":33,"featured_media":92727,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[16,95],"tags":[17982,14019,1144],"class_list":["post-98531","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-news","category-news-ph","tag-legal-researcher","tag-regional-trial-court","tag-supreme-court","mauthors-philippine-news-agency"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/98531","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/33"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=98531"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/98531\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/92727"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=98531"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=98531"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=98531"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}