This case has been cited 1 times or more.
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2002-02-22 |
KAPUNAN, J. |
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| xxx[9] This act by the clerk of court is patently violative of her duty to maintain the authenticity and correctness of court records and also of Section 3, Rule 13 of the Revised Rules of Court which provides:Section 3. Manner of filing. - The filing of pleadings, appearances, motions, notices, orders, judgments and all other papers shall be made by presenting the original copies thereof, plainly indicated as such, personally to the clerk of court or by sending them by registered mail. In the first case, the clerk of court shall endorse on the pleading the date and hour of filing. In the second case, the date of the mailing of motions, pleadings, or any other papers or payments or deposits, as shown by the post office stamp on the envelope or the registry receipt, shall be considered as the date of their filing, payment or deposit in court. The envelope shall be attached to the record of the case. By allowing the insertion of the certification of non-forum shopping to make it appear that the same was already part of the case records at the time of the filing of the complaint, respondent Hernandez committed an act of dishonesty. The Court finds the penalties recommended by both the investigating judge and the court administrator to be too light and incommensurate with the gravity of the offense. Since dishonesty constitutes grave misconduct, the same carries the extreme penalty of dismissal from service on commission of the first offense.[10] In the case of Judge Enrique Almario vs. Jameswell Resus and Nora Saclolo,[11] respondents branch clerk of court and stenographic reporter were dismissed from service by this Court for their grave misconduct in preparing in advance a TSN of a hearing yet to take place and inserting it into the records of the case even though the hearing did not push through. In justifying their dismissal from service, the Court ruled that "[b]y their acts, they have compromised and undermined the public's faith in the records of the court below and, ultimately, the integrity of the Judiciary."[12] Hence, for committing a grave misconduct of inserting into the records of the case a certification of non-forum shopping and making it appear that the same was already part of such records at the time the complaint was filed, herein respondent clerk of court deserves to be similarly penalized. | |||||