Case Digest (A.M. No. P-07-2390)
Facts:
Office of the Court Administrator v. Lyndon L. Isip, A.M. No. P-07-2390, August 19, 2009, Supreme Court First Division, Carpio, J., writing for the Court.The complainant was the Office of the Court Administrator (OCA) and the respondent was Lyndon L. Isip, Sheriff IV, Regional Trial Court (RTC), Office of the Clerk of Court, City of San Fernando, Pampanga. The matter arose from three anonymous letters alleging that respondent had been falsifying his daily time record (DTR) by timing in at the RTC‑Guagua where his wife worked, then bringing the DTR home and stamping it the next morning before reporting to his official work station at the RTC‑San Fernando.
The OCA referred the complaint to Executive Judge Adelaida Ala‑Medina of the RTC‑San Fernando (the Investigating Judge) for formal investigation, report and recommendation. At the hearing, security guard Amir Karon testified that he saw respondent arrive on 22 November 2004 and proceed directly to the Office of the Clerk of Court without punching his DTR at the OCC bundy clock; respondent allegedly admitted then that he had punched in at RTC‑Guagua. Head guard Raoul Pelinio testified that respondent’s DTR was among those missing from the DTR rack and that the DTR did not correspond to respondent’s actual arrival time. Administrative Officer Florenda Ordonez explained that multiple bundy clocks and informal practices could produce non‑consecutive logbook entries.
The Investigating Judge examined the OCC logbook and respondent’s DTRs and concluded that respondent began timing in at RTC‑Guagua on 11 October 2004; the logbook entries showed times that did not sensibly correspond to actual sequence of arrivals, supporting the allegation that respondent timed in elsewhere before going to his official station. Respondent admitted the conduct during investigation. The Investigating Judge, noting respondent’s long service, his admission and apparent remorse, and that entries suggested he still arrived before 8:00 a.m., recommended suspension for one year without pay in a report dated 30 January 2007.
The OCA adopted the Investigating Judge’s findings but, considering mitigating circumstances and that this was respondent’s first administrative case, recommended suspension for one year without pay while acknowledgin...(Subscriber-Only)
Issues:
- Did respondent Lyndon L. Isip commit the administrative offense of dishonesty by falsifying his daily time record (timing in at RTC‑Guagua instead of his official station at RTC‑San Fernando)?
- If guilty, what penalty is appropriate in view of the facts and any mitigating or aggra...(Subscriber-Only)
Ruling:
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Ratio:
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Doctrine:
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