G.R. Nos. 85248-49 - PEOPLE OF THE PHILIPPINES, VS. SGT. JERRY BALANON, ACCUSED-.

Ruling

accordingly admonished. It may be recalled that in Tan Chun Suy v. Court of Appeals (G.R. No. 93640, 7 January 1994) a similar imprudence or indiscretion was committed in the First Division by the same Ms. Barbara C. Lopez. In that case, Ms. Lopez received the "Manifestation and Motion to Withdraw Petition" of petitioner on 24 November 1993 but failed to transmit the same to the Agenda Division for reporting until a decision had already been promulgated. Ms. Lopez again attributed the delay in the transmittal of the aforementioned manifestation and motion to the unavailability of the rollo despite her repeated requests from the Rollo Room. According to her, she accidentally found the rollo of the Tan Chun Suy case on 25 January 1994 at the Judgment Division of the Judicial Records Office after it was directly forwarded to it upon promulgation of the decision on 7 January 1994. In that incident Atty. Soriano rebuked Ms. Lopez and warned her to be more circumspect in obtaining rollos of cases, suggesting to her that to be earnest in her purpose she should have made a formal request signed by the Clerk of Court authorizing her to follow-up rollos for proper reporting. The Tan Chun Suy incident undoubtedly placed the Court in a bad light. We are again faced with the same predicament. Officers and employees of the Court have the bounden duty to judiciously manage their official affairs and adopt measures to improve the system of filing, recording and transmitting of pleadings and court processes to ensure efficiency in their workflow. Court employees are vital tools in the effective administration of justice. Upon them lies the stability of the judicial system and, ultimately, the confidence of the people in our courts. Evidently, Ms. Lopez lacks devotion to duty and perseverance to overcome difficulty. As a Records Officer she should exert all reasonable efforts to obtain the rollo of a particular case where a pleading is to be attached for reporting, and if the rollo is not available due to causes not attributable to her, she should have the subject pleading reported just the same in a temporary rollo . It may be apropos to stress that only when the rollo cannot be obtained through or under the usual office procedure, or after a long period has already elapsed, shall a pleading be reported in a temporary rollo. The rollo after all is necessary to check on the accuracy of the report in the agenda. WHEREFORE, MS. BARBARA C. LOPEZ, Records Officer II, Office of the Clerk of Court, First Division, is SUSPENDED for two (2) weeks without pay effective upon receipt hereof for her inordinate delay in transmitting to the Agenda Division the two (2) letters of appellant Sgt. Jerry Balanon notifying this Court of his intention to withdraw his appeal. She is STERNLY WARNED that a repetition of the same or similar act will be dealt with more severely. Let copy of this Resolution be attached to her personal file. SO ORDERED.