G.R. No. 197571 - CIVIL SERVICE COMMISSION, VS. CRISOSTOMO M. PLOPINIO.D E C I S I O N - Supreme Court E-Library

Ruling

accordingly, it was not fully established that there was a successive 30-day absence without an approved application for leave on his part, attached as Annex "C." Truly, it could be said that on allegations alone of the mayor of Sipocot that [respondent] is rarely seen in his office at the Municipal building thus reneging in his duties as [Election Officer] thereat, PES Cariño deliberately left [respondent's] DTRs unsigned and undelivered to the Personnel Department, coupled with the fact that when the latter complained of such condition, the former forwarded some of his DTRs to the Personnel Department unsigned, claiming that she cannot attest to the fact that [respondent] did show up in his office on the time and date stated in his DTRs. Clearly, it was not [respondent's] fault that his DTRs never reached the Personnel. On allegations of his frequent absences, [respondent] was never summoned by his Supervisor nor by his director to clarify the matter and afford him to explain his side. Further, [respondent] was not furnished with any memorandum addressed to the Commission thru the Commissioner-In-Charge for Region V, Com. Florentino A. Tuason, Jr., forwarded by either [Regional Election Director (RED)] Zaragoza or PES Cariño regarding the status of his office in Sipocot, thus, leaving him helpless on what action to undertake to defend himself. In fact, neither this office was furnished with these memoranda recommending that [respondent] be dropped from the roll of employees which should not be the case considering that this office is in charge of, or if not recommendatory of any field personnel movement to the Commission thru the Commissioner-In-Charge of the region concerned. [Respondent] further averred that he was surprised upon learning that Resolution No. 5835 was promulgated on 14 November 2003 detailing him at the REDO in Albay, attached as Annex "D." Subsequently, when [respondent] sought reconsideration of the Commission's decision to detail him to the REDO, his office in Sipocot was padlocked which prevented him from discharging his duties as [Election Officer (EO)] thereat. He officially informed the Commission of all these circumstances as evidenced [by] the voluminous documents he submitted to the Commission thru the Office of Commissioner Tancangco, In-Charge of the Personnel Department thru Director Adolfo A. Ibañez and the Office of the Chairman, and copy furnished this office, but no definite and immediate action was undertaken by the offices mentioned nor same was forwarded to the Commission En Banc for proper disposition. Instead, Minute Resolution No. 03-0278 was promulgated on 11 September 2003 dropping him from the rolls. In the interest of justice and equity, this office submitted a memorandum dated 27 October 2003, recommending that [respondent] be given at least one more chance to be of public service and to rectify his purportedly committed inadvertent administrative misfeasance, considering his satisfactory performanc