G.R. No. 137823 - Mortel vs. KASSCO, Inc.

In 2004, QUEDANCOR's President issued Memorandum Circular No. 270 establishing the Consolidated Guidelines on the QUEDANCOR Swine Program (CG-QSP), designed to provide affordable credit for swine breeders and fatteners.
Under the CG-QSP, QUEDANCOR would approve loan applications from farmers, issue purchase orders to them, and the farmers would then use these orders with accredited suppliers to purchase swine inputs.
Delivery of inputs was acknowledged by the farmers, enabling suppliers to collect payments from QUEDANCOR equal to the loan amount.
In Region IV, loan applications were processed by QUEDANCOR district offices. Two main suppliers were accredited: Metro Livestock, Inc. and Global Swine Philippines, Inc.

In 2007, the Commission on Audit (COA) conducted an investigation on alleged irregularities in the CG-QSP implementation in Region IV.
The COA report revealed the following issues:

QUEDANCOR's acquisition guidelines bypassed public bidding, violating R.A. 9184.
Metro Livestock and Global Swine were accredited without meeting eligibility requirements, including inadequate business operation history, financial capacity, and technical skills.
Full loan proceeds were released to suppliers despite incomplete deliveries, based on pre-signed delivery receipts, constituting falsification.
Monitoring of swine produce pull-outs was neglected, complicating liability identification.
Improper offsetting of QUEDANCOR's payables and receivables without adequate records.
Certificates of Accreditation to input suppliers were not nullified despite issues, exposing government funds to loss.
QUEDANCOR's governance abdicated policy-making powers improperly.
Non-recovery of significant loan balances as of mid-2007 amounting to over P136 million.

Public Assistance and Corruption Prevention Office (PACPO-Luzon), through Marivic B. Dela Cruz, filed a complaint with the Ombudsman against officials of QUEDANCOR, including petitioner Romeo DC. Resulta, District Supervisor for Tanauan, Batangas.
Petitioner denied wrongdoing, asserting he acted in good faith under management directives, emphasizing legal procedural justifications for the disbursements and offsetting based on QUEDANCOR memorandum circulars.

The Ombudsman found petitioner guilty of grave misconduct due to gross inexcusable negligence, citing:

Consequent penalties included dismissal, forfeiture of benefits, and perpetual disqualification from government service.
Petitioner's motions for reconsideration were denied.
The Court of Appeals affirmed the Ombudsman’s findings and penalties, emphasizing petitioner’s failure to fulfill basic duties, leading to substantial government loss.

Petitioner sought review, arguing the absence of evidence of bad faith, undue advantage, or corrupt intent.
Contended he followed management directives and applicable circulars.
Argued penalty of dismissal was unduly harsh considering long service and clean record.
PACPO supported affirmance, emphasizing fiduciary duty violations and erosion of public trust.

Whether or not petitioner Romeo DC. Resulta is administratively liable for grave misconduct for his alleged negligence and irregularities in administering the CG-QSP in Region IV.
Whether the penalty of dismissal imposed on petitioner is justified considering the evidence and circumstances.