Supreme Court of the Philippines
Benchmark Online March 2010
Benchmark Online March 2010
By Arcie M. Sercado
The Supreme Court recently affirmed the decision of the Office of the Ombudsman-Mindanao finding a Register of Deeds guilty of neglect of duty and imposing on her the penalty of suspension of one month without pay.
In a six-page decision penned by Justice Conchita Carpio Morales, the SC reversed and set aside the decision of the Court of Appeals and said that the finding of the Office of the Ombudsman - Mindanao, that Register of Deeds Asteria E. Cruzabra was administratively liable for neglect of duty, was adequately established by substantial evidence.
The case stemmed from the filing of a petition by two individuals before the Office of the Register of Deeds of General Santos City which sought the inclusion of another person’s name in their Transfer Certificates of Titles. Without authority from respondent Cruzabra, the land registration examiner acted on the petition by instructing the office clerk to type the name on the face of the titles.
The Court noted that Cruzabra’s guilt of neglect of duty becomes pronounced due to her admitted inaction upon learning of the irregularity. “Her justification for such inaction -that to do so would subject her to a charge of falsification - reflects her indifference, to say the least, to her duties and functions,” the Court said.
“That it is the duty and responsibility of respondent, as register of deeds, to direct and supervise the activities of her office can never be overemphasized. Whether respondent exercised prudence and vigilance in discharging her duties, she has not shown,” the Court added.
The Court added that at all events, the order of the Office of the Ombudsman finding Cruzabra liable is “final, executory, and unappealable,” given the applicable provisions of law and the Rules of Procedure of the Office of the Ombudsman. (GR No. 183507, Ombudsman v. Cruzabra, February 24, 2010)
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