ADMINISTRATIVE CASES Curious case of Agnes Raguinan, teacher By Neal Cruz Philippine Daily Inquirer First Posted 00:45:00

02/27/2009 Filed Under: Judiciary (system of justice), Legal issues, Justice & Rights What?s going on in the Supreme Court? It supposed to be the highes t court in the land that corrects errors of lower courts and dispenses justice w ithout fear or favor. Of late, however, this image of an incorruptible court has been tarnished. The case of retired Associate Justice Ruben Reyes is just one c ase in point. Reyes was found guilty of grave misconduct by the en banc and fin ed P500,000, to be deducted from his retirement benefits, for leaking an unpromu lgated and confidential decision on the citizenship of Negros Oriental province? s Rep. Jocelyn Limkaichong. There are other cases that shake the faith of the ordinary citizen on the integr ity and objectivity of the tribunal. A common complaint is the dismissal by the SC of appealed cases through minute resolutions, without any explanation why the y were dismissed despite a constitutional provision mandating that all decisions and resolutions of the courts be justified by the facts and the law. The case of a public school teacher who was unjustly dismissed from the service and forfeited all retirement benefits, after having served the public for 30 years as teacher and principal, has come to my attention. She is A gnes Raguinan, principal of the Manaoag (Pangasinan) National High School. What was her fault? Nothing. She just applied, in 1999, for the po sition of principal of the high school when it became vacant as a result of the retirement of the incumbent. Being a resident of Manaoag, Raguinan believed she had the edge for the position because of Republic Act 8190 and Civil Service Qua lification Standards which grant priority to candidates for appointment who are residents of the municipality or city where the school is located. It turned out, however, that there were other aspirants to the position, among t hem Rosalino T. Agpalo Jr. who was eventually appointed principal. Believing that the selection process was not fair and transparen t, Raguinan questioned the same before the Civil Service Commission (CSC) field office in Urdaneta, Pangasinan. The mayor of Manaoag also sought an injunction a nd later a declaration of nullity of the appointment of Agpalo for violations of pertinent laws and rules. Thinking that Raguinan was the root of his predicament, Agpalo h atched a plan to strike back at her. She looked into her records and fished for evidence against her. In 2001, notwithstanding that the selection process and appoint ment of the principal had already been completed a year earlier, Juliana Laoag, schools division superintendent of Pangasinan II, in the guise of verifying Ragu inan?s application, asked the president of Pangasinan State University for a cer tification on Raguinan?s alleged master?s degree in education as reflected in he r transcript of records at the Baguio Central University. The Pangasinan State U niversity replied that Raguinan was not a graduate of the university. Agpalo and Laoag then filed a complaint with the CSC, accusing Raguinan of grave misconduc t, dishonesty, and falsification of public documents. The CSC dismissed her and ordered the forfeiture of her retirement benefits.

Raguinan questioned her dismissal on the grounds of: (1) lack of jurisdiction of the CSC to dismiss her; (2) no substantial evidence to prove tha t she was guilty of dishonesty and falsification of public documents. The CSC and the Court of Appeals admitted that the CSC had no j urisdiction to hear and decide administrative cases against teachers. The author ity is with an investigation committee composed of a superintendent and supervis or of the Department of Education where the school is located and a representati ve of the teachers pursuant to Republic Act 4670, the Magna Carta for Public Sch ool Teachers. However, the CSC and Court of Appeals pointed out that Ragu inan waived her right to question the jurisdiction because she allegedly failed to assert such jurisdictional issue before the CSC and was therefore guilty of e stoppel by laches. Laches is a failure or neglect for an unreasonable and unexpl ained length of time to do that which, by exercising due diligence, could or sho uld have been done earlier. The records of the case show, however, that when Raguinan file d her counter-affidavit against the complaint before the CSC regional office at San Fernando, Pampanga, she already questioned the CSC jurisdiction. While the c ase was on appeal at the CSC, Raguinan also questioned its jurisdiction. Hence, it is clear, that Raguinan had questioned the CSC jurisdiction within the prescr ibed period and had not been negligent in asserting her right. The unkindest cut is that when Raguinan appealed to the Supreme Court, her appea l was dismissed with a one-page resolution: ?Denied for lack of merit.? When she inquired at the Supreme Court, she was not furnished an alleged en banc resolution except the word ?denied.? A check with the Intern et revealed that there is no publication of such resolution contrary to normal p ractice of publishing all resolutions and decisions of the Supreme Court on the Internet. What Raguinan saw was merely information that she should get he r copy from the complainant. Why from the complainant? Why not from the Supreme Court itself? This is strange because the Constitution states: ?No decision s hall be rendered without expressing therein clearly and distinctly the facts and the law on which it is based.? Was that minute resolution really a decision of the Court en ban c? Or was it the work of an employee? Shouldn?t Chief Justice Reynato Puno order an investigation as this case casts doubt on the disposition of justice in the highest court of the land? Principal Fired for Grave Misconduct (The Freeman) Updated June 05, 2009 12:00 AM CEBU, Philippines The Department of Education has finally implemented the order of the Ombudsman dismissing from service a public school principal from Liloan tow n who was found guilty of an administrative case for grave misconduct. Assistant Ombudsman for the Visayas Virginia Palanca-Santiago said they were inf ormed by the DepEd of the implementation of the order against Dr. Epitacio Mendo za of the Liloan Central Elementary School. The anti-graft office ordered last July 28, 2004 for the dismissal of Mendoza fr

om service after he was found guilty of grave misconduct. The order was not imme diately implemented by the DepEd because the respondent questioned the decision before the Court of Appeals. However, the 18th Division of the appellate court affirmed the decision of the O ffice of the Ombudsman-Visayas. In a 12-page decision penned by associate justice Franchito Diamante the appella te court dismissed Mendoza s petition for certiorari and denied his prayer for the i ssuance of a temporary restraining order to prevent the anti-graft office from e nforcing its decision. The case stemmed from a complaint for grave misconduct filed by Ma. Teresa Singu ran, a public school teacher, against Mendoza in 2003. Singuran, in her complaint, said she was designated as the teacher-in-charge of two public schools in Liloan. One of her teachers was reassigned to the central school prompting her to request for a replacement from the division office. Singuran said that she was advised by the assistant division superintendent to s ee Mendoza, who was then the principal of the school where one of her teachers w as reassigned. On June 24, 2003, Singuran said she visited Mendoza in his office but to her sur prise the latter raised his voice at her and even struck her with a plastic chai r. Mendoza also accused her of stealing his cellular phone. The anti-graft office found the complaint meritorious and considering that it wa s not the first time that Mendoza was complained of misconduct, graft investigat ors imposed upon him the highest penalty of dismissal from service. The court held that under the Civil Service Law and its implementing rules, the charges against Mendoza is a grave offense punishable by dismissal from service. Fred P. Languido/BRP (THE FREEMAN)

SUPERVISORY CASES DoJ at Odds with Poll Body Over Ex-election Supervisor By Tetch Torres INQUIRER.net 2:51 pm | Wednesday, April 18th, 2012 MANILA, Philippines The Department of Justice is at odds with the Commission on Ele ctions (Comelec) with regards to the dropping of electoral sabotage case against former election supervisor in South Cotabato in order to take the witness stand against former Comelec chairman Benjamin Abalos. During Wednesday s hearing before Pasay City Regional Trial Court Branch 117, the Do J prosecutors submitted a motion to discharge lawyer Lilian Radam despite disapp roval from the Comelec prosecutors.

The Comelec prosecutors have also submitted in court a Comelec en banc resolutio n insisting that Radam be prosecuted for her part in allegedly rigging the elect ion results in 2007. Aside from Radam, the Comelec is also against the dropping of electoral sabotage case against former provincial election supervisor in North Cotabato Yogi Marti rizar. In 2007, Abalos Sr., then Comelec chairman, ordered that the two be slapped with administrative case due to their alleged involvement in the 2007 election irreg ularities. Abalos ruling was then upheld by his successor, former chairman Jose A.R . Melo. Abalos has a pending petition for bail before the Pasay RTC Branch 117 In previo us hearings, the witnesses has been narrowed down from 22 to only two-Radam and Martirizar. Lintang Bedol pleads not guilty to electoral sabotage rap By Miko Morelos Philippine Daily Inquirer 2:35 am | Wednesday, March 14th, 2012 Former elections supervisor Lintang Bedol on Tuesday pleaded not guilty to the accusat ion he rigged the results of the 2007 senatorial elections in Maguindanao on the orders of former President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo and then provincial Governor Andal Ampatuan Sr. Arraigned before Judge Jesus Mupas of the Pasay Regional Trial Court Branch 112, Bedol entered his plea with his counsel Reynaldo Princesa, who also filed a mot ion to allow his client to use communication devices like cell phones and laptop s while in detention. Acting on the request, Mupas ordered prosecutors from the Commission on Election s (Comelec) to comment in writing on Bedol s motion after they objected in open cou rt. The judge set Bedol s pretrial on April 19. Bedol, who was brought to court in handcuffs, has been detained at the custodial center of Camp Crame since last year after surrendering to the Comelec. With Ru el Perez, Radyo Inquirer and Jamie Elona, INQUIRER.net Originally posted: 11:47 am | Tuesday, March 13th, 2012