A.M. No. 01-4-119-MTC; January 16, 2002
RE: FINANCIAL AUDIT CONDUCTED ON THE BOOK OF ACCOUNTS OF CLERK OF COURT PACITA T. SENDIN, MTC, SOLANO, NUEVA VIZCAYA

FACTS

Clerk of Court Pacita T. Sendin of the Municipal Trial Court of Solano, Nueva Vizcaya compulsorily retired on July 19, 2000. Upon her retirement, she submitted her cashbooks and related documents for financial audit covering her custodianship of judiciary funds from March 1985 to July 15, 2000. The audit by the Office of the Court Administrator revealed significant irregularities. Specifically, there were substantial delays in the remittance of collected funds to the proper accounts. The computation showed unremitted collections for the Judiciary Development Fund (JDF) and the General Fund, as well as a substantial shortage in the Fiduciary Fund, resulting in a total accountability of P303,809.05 as of her retirement date.
Sendin subsequently restituted the entire amount on various dates in January 2001, thereby settling her monetary accountability. However, the audit emphasized that her failure to remit the collections within the periods prescribed by court circulars deprived the judiciary of potential interest earnings. The case was elevated to the Supreme Court for administrative adjudication.

ISSUE

Whether Clerk of Court Pacita T. Sendin is administratively liable for her failure to timely remit various judiciary fund collections.

RULING

Yes, Sendin is administratively liable. The Supreme Court ruled that as Clerk of Court, she was a custodian of judiciary funds and had a ministerial duty to remit all collections promptly and fully in accordance with administrative circulars, particularly A.C. No. 5-93. Her failure to do so constituted gross neglect of duty and misfeasance. The Court emphasized that clerks of court perform a delicate function and must exhibit the highest standards of honesty and integrity, as they are entrusted with the effective implementation of fiscal rules. The undue delay in remittances, spanning years in some instances, transgressed the trust reposed in her as an officer of the court.
In determining the penalty, the Court considered mitigating circumstances: Sendin had already compulsorily retired, had rendered 46 years of service, and had fully restituted the shortages, albeit belatedly. Consequently, instead of a more severe sanction, the Court deemed it proper to impose a fine of Five Thousand Pesos (P5,000.00), to be deducted from her retirement benefits. This balanced the need to uphold administrative accountability with recognition of her long service and eventual restitution.