Case Digest (A.M. No. P-94-1063)
Facts:
- Deputy Sheriff Benjamin A. Gonzales was dismissed and disqualified from reemployment.
- Gonzales failed to deliver a seized television set, which led to an administrative complaint filed against him.
- The complaint was filed by Bernardita B. Chua on behalf of Accord Loans, Inc.
- Chua alleged that her company learned of the levy made by Gonzales from the Spouses Nunez in May 1994.
- Gonzales failed to inform their office about the levy and did not produce the seized goods or give their value.
- The complaint was filed on July 20, 1994.
Issue:
- (Unlock)
Ruling:
- The Supreme Court ruled in favor of the complainant and dismissed Gonzales from service.
- The court ordered the forfeiture of all his leave credits and retirement benefits.
- Gonzales was disqualified from reemployment in the national and local governments, ...(Unlock)
Ratio:
- The court found that Gonzales' defense of forgetting about the writ of execution was not credible.
- The circumstances of the case and Gonzales' irregular actuations indicated that his failure to deliver the television set was not a case of simple forgetfulness.
- Previous demands were made upon Gonzales for the delivery of the TV set or its value, which was the standard operating procedure in their kind of business.
- Despite having more than one month to produce the televis...continue reading
Case Digest (A.M. No. P-94-1063)
Facts:
The case of Chua v. Gonzales involves the dismissal and disqualification of Deputy Sheriff Benjamin A. Gonzales from reemployment. The case originated from a writ of execution issued by the Municipal Trial Court of Angeles City, Branch III in Civil Case No. 90-166. The writ ordered the City Sheriff of Olongapo City to seize the goods and chattels of the defendants, the Spouses Martin F. Nuñez and Elizabeth M. Nuñez, in order to satisfy the judgment in favor of Accord Loans, Inc. Respondent Gonzales, as Deputy Sheriff, levied on a television set owned by the defendants. However, despite demands from the complainant, he failed to deliver the television set or the equivalent amount of its value. It was later discovered that this was not the first offense committed by Gonzales, as he had previously been reprimanded and fined for similar misconduct in two other administrative cases. In his defense, Gonzales claimed that he forgot about the writ of execution due to the destruction of his apartment caused by the eruption of Mt. Pinatubo. However, the court found his defense to be lacking credibility.
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