A.M. No. 2395-CFI. January 31, 1978. THE PHILIPPINE TRIAL LAWYERS ASSOCIATION, INC., petitioner, vs. JUDGE ENRIQUE A. AGANA, SR., respondent.
FACTS

The Philippine Trial Lawyers Association, through Atty. Beltran, filed a complaint for gross misconduct against Judge Enrique Agana, Sr. of the Court of First Instance of Pasay City. The complaint alleged that the judge falsified his monthly Certificates of Service from March to December 1979 by certifying he had no cases pending decision beyond the 90-day reglementary period. This allowed him to collect his salary. The falsification pertained to Civil Case No. PQ-5987-P, which the judge himself had declared submitted for decision in an order dated December 4, 1978. The 90-day deadline to decide the case thus expired on March 4, 1979. The judge, however, rendered a decision dated October 26, 1979, which was filed with the clerk of court only on November 21, 1979, and promulgated on December 5, 1979.

ISSUE

Whether respondent Judge Agana is administratively liable for gross misconduct for falsifying his Certificates of Service by failing to decide a case within the constitutional and statutory 90-day period and for collecting his salary based on those false certifications.

RULING

Yes, the judge is administratively liable. The Supreme Court adopted the report and recommendation of Investigating Justice Carolina Griño-Aquino. The legal logic is clear: the 90-day period for deciding a case is mandatory and is reckoned from the date the case is submitted for decision, as fixed by the judge’s own order (December 4, 1978), not from the date the judge allegedly receives complete records from court personnel. The Court rejected the judge’s excuse that the period should run from the later part of July 1979 when his clerk allegedly gave him the records. The constitutional and statutory duty to decide promptly is a personal, non-delegable responsibility of the judge. The Court emphasized that judges must proceed with decision-writing without waiting for transcripts and cannot rely on subordinates to manage their deadlines. By certifying he had no overdue cases while fully aware that Civil Case No. PQ-5987-P remained undecided long past the March 4, 1979 deadline, Judge Agana submitted false Certificates of Service. Consequently, the Court severely reprimanded and admonished him to be more attentive and assiduous in his duties, with a warning that a repetition would be dealt with more severely.