G.R. No. 206379 - CECILIA PAGADUAN, VS. CIVIL SERVICE COMMISSION* AND REMA MARTIN SALVADOR.D E C I S I O N - Supreme Court E-Library

Ruling

WHEREFORE, premises considered, REMA MARTIN SALVADOR is hereby declared guilty of CONVICTION OF A CRIME INVOLVING MORAL TURPITUDE and is meted the penalty of DISMISSAL FROM THE SERVICE WITH ALL ITS ACCESSORY PENALTIES . [11] Aggrieved, Salvador moved for reconsideration, but the motion was denied. Salvador appealed to the CSC, which rendered a decision [12] on March 1, 2011 reversing and setting aside the decision of the CSC-RO II and exonerating her of the charge. She was sternly warned to be more cautious and prudent in accomplishing public documents. The CSC ruled that the criminal offense of falsification of public document did not per se involve moral turpitude, following the Court's pronouncement in Dela Torre vs. COMELEC , [13] citing Zari vs. Flores. [14] The CSC stated that since the liability of Salvador in the first administrative complaint was lowered to Simple Misconduct, the crime ascribed to her could not be said to have been attended with inherent baseness or vileness or depravity. [15] The dispositive portion of the March 1, 2011 CSC Decision reads: WHEREFORE, the Petition for Review (appeal) filed by Rema Martin Salvador is hereby GRANTED . Accordingly, the Decision dated January 12, 2010 issued by Civil Service Commission Regional Office (CSCRO) No. II finding her guilty of Conviction of a Crime Involving Moral Turpitude and meting upon her the penalty of dismissal from the government service with all its accessory penalties is hereby REVERSED and SET ASIDE . Thus, appellant Rema Martin Salvador is EXONERATED of the charge of Conviction of Crime Involving Moral Turpitude levelled against her. She is STERNLY WARNED to be more cautious and prudent in accomplishing public documents. [16] Pagaduan moved for reconsideration but the motion was denied on June 1, 2011. Hence, an appeal was made to the CA which ruled that following precedents, a conviction for falsification of public document constituted the offense of conviction of a crime involving moral turpitude. [17] The gravity of Salvador's falsification was highlighted by her commission of the same in her PDS, which was no ordinary contract. [18] Thus, on February 28, 2012 the CA disposed in this wise: WHEREFORE , premises considered, the Decision of the Commission dated 1 March 2011 and its Resolution promulgated 3 June 2011 affirming the same are hereby REVERSED and SET ASIDE . Consequently, the Decision of the Civil Service Commission Regional Office No. 2 of Tuguegarao City, Cagayan, dated 12 January 2010, is hereby AFFIRMED . SO ORDERED . [19] Salvador then filed a motion for reconsideration of the February 28, 2012 CA Decision. [20] On August 31, 2012, in a turn-around, the CA granted her motion and issued the assailed Amended Decision, [21] reversing and setting aside its previous decision and reinstated the March 1, 2011 CSC decision. It agreed with the findings of the CSC that the act of falsification committed by Salvador did not involve moral turpitude as it was a mer