G.R. No. 191412 - LETICIA A. CADENA, VS. CIVIL SERVICE COMMISSION.D E C I S I O N - Supreme Court E-Library

Ruling

WHEREFORE , in view of the foregoing, this Office finds Leticia A. Cadena guilty of Grave Misconduct and Dishonesty. Cadena is hereby meted out the penalty of DISMISSAL from the service with the accessory penalties of forfeiture of retirement benefits, disqualification from re-employment in the government service and bar from taking any civil service examination in the future. SO ORDERED . [6] The petitioner's motion for reconsideration was denied by the CSC-NCR via a decision [7] dated September 1, 2006, prompting the filing of an appeal with the CSC. The Ruling of the CSC On March 24, 2008, the CSC, through Commissioner Mary Ann Z. Fernandez-Mendoza, issued Resolution No. 080430 [8] dismissing the petitioner's appeal for having been filed out of time. It emphasized that the "perfection of an appeal in the manner and within the period laid down by law is not only mandatory but jurisdictional, and failure to perfect an appeal as legally required has the effect of rendering final and executory [the] judgment of the court below and deprives the appellate court [of] jurisdiction to entertain the appeal." [9] Dissatisfied with the CSC's ruling, the petitioner filed with the CA a petition for review raising the following issues: 1. Whether or not the Commission-NCR erred in denying the Appeal on its Resolution of March 24, 2008 filed by Petitioner for being arbitrary and not supported by the evidence on record and therefore errors of law or irregularities have been committed prejudicial to the interest of the Petitioner; and 2. Whether or not the failure of her counsel to submit the position paper could be considered as fraud, accident, mistake or excusable negligence which would warrant the reinvestigation of the case to afford Petitioner the chance to explain her side in the first instance. [10] The Ruling of the CA On June 30, 2009, the CA rendered its decision, [11] declaring that the CSC properly dismissed the appeal from the CSC-NCR's decision since the same had already become final and executory. On the other matters raised in the petition, the CA ruled as follows: Having resolved in the affirmative the issue of the propriety of the dismissal of petitioner's appeal to the CSC, we no longer find it necessary to resolve the other issue. [12] A motion for reconsideration filed by the petitioner was denied by the CA via a resolution [13] dated January 4, 2010. Hence, this petition. The Present Petition The present petition includes a statement that it is appealing from the resolution of the CA. However, this Court observes that the issues being raised by the petitioner pertain to the rulings of the CSC-NCR and CSC rather than of the CA, to wit: 1. Whether or not the Commission-NCR erred in denying the Appeal on its Resolution of March 24, 2008 filed by Petitioner for being arbitrary and not supported by the evidence on record and therefore errors of law or irregularities have been committed prejudicial to the interest of the Petitioner; and 2. Whet