Title
Court Administrator vs. Villanueva
Case
A.M. No. MTJ-90-460
Decision Date
Jun 3, 1993
Judge Villanueva exonerated due to insufficient evidence of paternity; Heide Pacaco dismissed for gross immorality based on birth certificate linking her to an illegitimate child.
gross immorality
dismissal
insufficient evidence
A

Case Summary (A.M. No. MTJ-90-460)

Factual Background

The administrative complaint alleged that Judge Villanueva had a “querida” named Heide B. Pacaco, and that the judge had an illegitimate child with her named Ceasar Anthony P. Villanueva, then about four years old. The Office of the Court Administrator received an unsworn letter-complaint from a concerned citizen of Sultan Kudarat. The Office then directed Judge German Malcampo of the Regional Trial Court, Branch 19, Isulan, Sultan Kudarat, to conduct a discreet investigation, which led to an indorsement dated July 24, 1990 confirming the allegations substantially.

The Supreme Court required the respondents to comment and later required them to undergo formal investigation. Respondents denied the charges and submitted a certification from the Montessori Learning Center and other evidence meant to show that Ceasar Anthony was not their child. They also challenged the authenticity of the documentary evidence presented against them.

Procedural History and Investigation

After the Supreme Court required comments and received separate answers, it referred the case for investigation and report within ninety (90) days. Respondents subsequently filed a joint motion for inhibition dated March 7, 1991, seeking the inhibition of Judge Malcampo on account of his earlier involvement in the investigation. The Court granted the motion on May 30, 1991 and designated Judge Romeo S. Sucaldito as the investigating judge in place of Judge Malcampo.

The investigating proceedings involved testimony from witnesses for the complainant: Mila Villaflores, Gemma Panagdato, and Belen Lopez. Respondents testified on their own behalf. Judge Villanueva also presented Arcadio Ramos, Chief Documents Examiner of the National Bureau of Investigation, who examined questioned signatures and sample signatures.

The Core Documentary Evidence: Birth Records

The complainant’s principal documentary link was the Certificate of Live Birth of Ceasar Anthony Pacaco Villanueva marked Exhibit “D.” The investigating judge, and later the Supreme Court, treated the document as a public document, but assessed its evidentiary value against each respondent in light of the rules on proof, admissibility, and authorship of signatures.

The certificate contained details showing the child’s name as “CEASAR ANTHONY PACACO VILLANUEVA” (as written on Exhibit “D”), and it stated that the mother was “Haide Pacaco” and the father was “Osmundo Villanueva.” It also included an informant signature reading “hbpacaco” and an Affidavit of Acknowledgment bearing signatures, also in green ink, appearing to match the informant signature. The certificate, however, was attacked by respondents on grounds of irregularities and alleged forgery or non-compliance with formal requisites.

Respondents’ Defenses

Judge Villanueva denied having an illicit relationship with Heide Pacaco and denied that he had a child with her. He disputed authorship of the signature appearing above “Signature of Father” in the Affidavit of Acknowledgment portion of Exhibit “D-5”, claiming it was a forgery. He also contended that birth certificate evidence could not establish filiation absent the required signature of the alleged father under the governing law.

Heide Pacaco similarly denied illicit relationship and denial of motherhood. She explained that Ceasar Anthony lived with her but was allegedly the son of her second cousin, Helen Paciente, and Helen’s husband, Oscar Villanueva, who were separated. She claimed Helen entrusted the child to her before Helen went to Saudi Arabia, and she stated that the child’s birth was later registered only after Helen returned on vacation and the lack of registration was discovered.

Investigating Judge’s Report and Recommendation

In a detailed Report and Recommendation dated March 4, 1993, Judge Romeo S. Sucaldito made findings on the testimonies and documentary evidence and assessed whether the evidence met the burden required for establishing gross immorality.

As to Judge Villanueva, the investigating judge concluded that the complainant failed to present direct evidence of an illicit relationship or conduct. The report treated the linkage to Judge Villanueva as depending largely on Exhibit “D,” yet it found that Judge Villanueva’s alleged signature in the birth certificate was not his. The investigating judge relied on the NBI handwriting expert’s examination and concluded that the questioned father’s signature was not written by Judge Villanueva. He further held that even if a public document proved the fact of birth, it did not, by itself, establish filiation or paternity against Judge Villanueva absent other competent proof and admissible evidence of the judge’s signature. Consequently, the investigating judge recommended exoneration of Judge Villanueva for lack of clear and convincing proof.

As to Heide B. Pacaco, the investigating judge reached the opposite conclusion. While acknowledging that only the fact of birth could be treated as proven by a birth certificate as a public document, he found compelling circumstances negating her defenses and supporting her authorship of the signatures appearing on Exhibit “D.” The investigating judge noted that the signature “hbpacaco” in the birth certificate’s informant portion and in the affidavit of acknowledgment bore striking similarity to signatures contained in Pacaco’s own written answer. The report also relied on Judge Villanueva’s identification of the signatures and on the NBI handwriting expert’s findings that the questioned signatures appeared written by the same person. The investigating judge therefore recommended that Pacaco be found guilty of gross immorality and be dismissed from service with appropriate penalties.

NBI Handwriting Examination

A central evidentiary development came from the testimony and report of Arcadio A. Ramos, an NBI documents examiner. Pursuant to an order, he examined the questioned signature in the Certificate of Live Birth of Ceasar Anthony and the respondent judge’s sample signatures marked among the exhibits. He used comparative techniques including the stereoscopic microscope and produced enlarged comparisons and a chart of differences.

He concluded that the questioned signature in the father’s space in Exhibit “D-5” and the standards submitted were not written by one and the same person, citing differences in line quality, stroke initiation, loop characteristics, upward stroke direction, and terminal stroke placement. This conclusion was used to support the investigating judge’s view that the signature attributed to Judge Villanueva in the affidavit of acknowledgment was not his, weakening the documentary basis of imputing paternity and the alleged illicit relationship to him.

Issues

The administrative case required determination of whether there was sufficient competent evidence to prove that (a) Judge Osmundo M. Villanueva had committed gross immorality; and (b) Heide B. Pacaco, as clerk of court, had similarly committed gross immorality, bearing in mind that the alleged misconduct was tied to the existence of the child and the documentary signatures in the birth certificate.

The Parties’ Contentions

Judge Villanueva and Heide Pacaco contended that the birth certificate and its entries were unreliable and that authenticity and admissibility were defective. Judge Villanueva argued that the certificate was inadmissible to prove filiation in the absence of an alleged father’s required signature under oath. Both respondents assailed the signatures in the birth certificate and claimed the alleged signatures were forged. Heide Pacaco further argued that even if she had custody of a child, she was not its mother and that the child belonged to her second cousin, with the registration later undertaken after discovery that it was not previously registered.

The complainant, through the Office of the Court Administrator, relied primarily on the birth certificate’s data and signatures—particularly the informant and acknowledgment signatures in the certificate—plus the circumstances surrounding the child’s presence in Pacaco’s custody and her evasiveness when questioned by Judge Villanueva.

Supreme Court’s Evaluation and Findings

The Supreme Court reviewed the evidence and adopted a different disposition as to each respondent.

With respect to Judge Osmundo M. Villanueva, the Court agreed with the recommendation of exoneration. It held that Exhibit “D” could establish only the fact of birth and the date of execution, not paternity against the judge. The Court emphasized that entries identifying a father are hearsay against the alleged father unless proven by competent evidence. Most decisively, the NBI handwriting examination showed that the signature in the space for the “Signature of Father” in the affidavit of acknowledgment (Exhibit “D-5”) was not Judge Villanueva’s signature. Having no other direct and primary evidence showing an illicit affair, the Court found no clear and convincing evidence of gross immorality attributable to him, and dismissed the complaint against him.

With respect to Heide B. Pacaco, the Court held that she was indeed guilty of gross immorality. The Court considered her defense—mere denial of authorship of the signatures—insufficient. It observed that when the investigating judge suggested that her signature be submitted to the NBI for examination, her counsel did not follow through despite the investigating judge’s information that the examination could be done without expense because she was a government employee. The Court also considered Judge Villanueva’s identification that the signature on Exhibit “D” looked like Pacaco’s, and the fact that Pacaco failed to counter that testimony except by denial.

The Supreme Court further relied on Rule 132, Sec. 22 of the Rules of Court, which permits handwriting proof by witnesses who have seen the person write or who have acted upon writings purporting to be theirs, and also permits proof through compariso

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