AM P 11 2931; (June, 2011) (Digest)
G.R. No. A.M. No. P-11-2931; June 1, 2011
John A. Mendez, Angelito Caballero and Ivy Caballero, Complainants, vs. Nerissa A. Balbuena, Court Interpreter, Municipal Trial Court in Cities, Branch 7, Cebu City, Respondent.
FACTS
Complainants John A. Mendez, his landlord Angelito Caballero, and Angelito’s daughter Ivy Caballero filed an administrative complaint for Oppression and Conduct Unbecoming a Public Officer against respondent Nerissa A. Balbuena, a Court Interpreter. The complainants alleged that on May 4, 2006, the respondent, who lived next door to Mendez’s rented room, called him to complain about an incident involving his co-workers’ motorcycle and demanded an apology. After an apology was given, the respondent turned her ire on Mendez, questioned the license of his water refilling station, hurled invectives at him, and threatened to secure police assistance to forcibly remove him from his room while pounding on the wall. The following day, May 5, 2006, the respondent, accompanied by three police officers, allegedly barged into Mendez’s room without a warrant, ransacked it, and threw his clothes into the street and a canal. She also cut his telephone line. Angelito and Ivy corroborated these events in a sworn joint affidavit. The parties failed to settle the matter at the barangay level. Despite several directives and a final show-cause resolution from the Office of the Court Administrator and the Supreme Court, the respondent repeatedly failed to submit her comment on the complaint.
ISSUE
Whether respondent Nerissa A. Balbuena is administratively liable for Oppression, Conduct Unbecoming a Public Officer, Misconduct, and Gross Insubordination.
RULING
Yes, the respondent is administratively liable. The Court found the respondent’s acts of harassment, threats, and misuse of police authority against her neighbors to be deplorable and a clear failure to uphold the high standards of integrity and propriety required of judiciary employees. Such conduct, even if not work-related, constitutes Oppression and Conduct Unbecoming a Public Officer, which amount to Simple Misconduct, as it erodes public esteem for the judiciary. Furthermore, her deliberate and repeated failure to comply with the Court’s directives to comment on the complaint constitutes Gross Insubordination and disrespect for the Court. Applying the Uniform Rules on Administrative Cases in the Civil Service, and considering the presence of aggravating circumstances (multiple charges) and no mitigating circumstances, the Court imposed the maximum penalty for the most serious charge. Respondent Nerissa A. Balbuena is found GUILTY of Oppression, Conduct Unbecoming a Public Officer, Misconduct, and Gross Insubordination and is SUSPENDED without pay for one (1) year, with a warning that a repetition of similar acts will be dealt with more severely.