G.R. No. 211290 - OMBUDSMAN-MINDANAO, VS. LILING LANTO IBRAHIM, PROJECT MANAGER, NATIONAL IRRIGATION ADMINISTRATION, NIA-PIO, LANAO DEL NORTE.D E C I S I O N - Supreme Court E-Library

Ruling

WHEREFORE, premises considered, this Office finds substantial evidence to hold respondent LILING LANTO IBRAHIM liable for Dishonesty and Grave Misconduct and is hereby meted the penalty of DISMISSAL FROM THE SERVICE under Section 10, Rule III of Administrative Order No. 07 as amended by Administrative Order No. 17 of the Office of the Ombudsman in relation to Section 46(b)(l) and (4) of Chapter 7 of the Revised Administrative Code of 1987 of the Civil Service Commission. The Honorable Johnny V. Emmanuel, Regional Manager of National Irrigation Administration (NIA), Region X, Cagayan de Oro City, is hereby directed to implement the Decision within ten (10) days upon receipt hereof. SO DECIDED. [7] Ibrahim filed a motion for reconsideration. In its Order dated 11 May 2011, the OMB-Mindanao denied the motion. Ibrahim filed a petition for review before the Court of Appeals, Cagayan de Oro City assailing the OMB-Mindanao's Decision of 6 February 2007 and Order of 11 May 2011. The Decision of the Court of Appeals Ibrahim alleged in his petition that the OMB-Mindanao failed to consider the Summary of Obligations, a newly-discovered evidence that would prove that there was no shortage of funds and that the government was not defrauded or did not suffer any damage. The OMB-Mindanao countered that the Summary of Obligations was hardly a newly-discovered evidence as it was already raised in Ibrahim's counter-affidavit but he only submitted it as an annex to his motion for reconsideration. In its 29 January 2013 Decision, the Court of Appeals reversed the 6 February 2007 Decision and 11 May 2011 Order of the OMB-Mindanao and dismissed the case against Ibrahim. The Court of Appeals ruled that the Summary of Obligations was actually new on the records because while it was mentioned in Ibrahim's counter-affidavit, it was only attached to Ibrahim's motion for reconsideration. The Court of Appeals observed that the OMB-Mindanao did not consider the Summary of Obligations in resolving Ibrahim's motion for reconsideration. The Court of Appeals also noted that the complaint against Ibrahim was for unlawful realignment of funds. The Court of Appeals stated that in its 6 February 2007 Decision, the OMB-Mindanao ruled that there was no unlawful realignment of the El Niño funds from Mapantao CIS to Balabagan CIS but found Ibrahim liable for the shortage of P1,295,507.09 based on the report of the audit team. The Court of Appeals found that the aggregate amount of the transactions not included in the computation of the audit team covered the alleged shortage of P1,295,507.09. The Court of Appeals concluded that there was no shortage of funds and that the El Niño funds had been accounted for. The Court of Appeals ruled that the OMB-Mindanao disregarded Ibrahim's evidence that refuted the findings of the audit team. The dispositive portion of the Decision reads: FOR THESE REASONS, the petition is GRANTED. The Decision dated [06] February 2007 and Order dated 11 May 2011 of