Court junks raps vs retired chief justice
Credit to Author: JOMAR CANLAS, TMT| Date: Sat, 16 Mar 2019 16:24:33 +0000
The Supreme Court on Friday junked the administrative charges filed against retired Chief Justice Teresita Leonardo de Castro for lack of merit.
In a resolution, the Supreme Court ruled to dismiss a complaint against the former chief of the judiciary for lack of merit.
Associate Justice Marvic Leonen penned the ruling wherein the Supreme Court en banc also ruled that de Castro’s mandatory retirement on Oct. 10, 2018 also rendered complainants’ administrative charges moot.
Elvira Enalbes, Rebecca Angeles and Estelita Ocampo accused de Castro of gross ignorance of the law, gross inefficiency, gross misconduct, gross dishonesty and conduct prejudicial to the best interest of the service for her alleged failure to decide despite the lapse of more than five years on two separate petitions filed by spouses Eligio Mallari and Marcelina Mallari in 2012 and 2013, respectively.
“To hold a magistrate administratively liable for gross ignorance of the law, it is not enough that his or action was erroneous; it must also be proven that it was driven by bad faith, dishonesty or ill motive,” the high court said.
Moreover, the court held that “(w)hile the 24-month period provided under the 1987 Constitution is persuasive, it does not summarily bind this court to the disposition of cases brought before it. It is a mere directive to ensure this court’s prompt resolution of cases, and should not be interpreted as an inflexible rule.”
“Ultimately, courts must strike an objective and reasonable balance in disposing cases promptly, while maintaining judicious tenacity in interpreting and applying the law,” it pointed out.
The post Court junks raps vs retired chief justice appeared first on The Manila Times Online.