Republic of the Philippines

National Capital Judicial Region

REGIONAL TRIAL COURT
Branch 111 XXX City

Memorandum No. 01-2019

07 January 2019

TO: ANNA S. REYES

Court Interpreter II

SUBJECT: RETURN TO WORK AND SHOW CAUSE ORDERS

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Ms. Reyes,

You are hereby given five (5) days from receipt hereof to report for work and to explain
in writing why you should not be dropped from the rolls, administratively charged for
gross neglect of duty under Section 52(A)(2), gross insubordination under Section
52(A)(19), and grave misconduct under Section 52(A)(3) of Rule IV of Civil Service
Commission Memorandum Circular No. 19, Series of 1999, and criminally charged
for Theft under Article 308 of the Revised Penal Code, for your continued absence
without official leave (AWOL), failure to surrender the office keys and/or property in
your possession, and for allegedly taking, with intent to gain, Php 4,000.00 cash from
Ms. Jennifer Cruz (“Ms. Cruz”), Clerk III of this court, without the latter’s consent.

I. FACTUAL BASES OF THE ADMINISTRATIVE

CHARGES FOR GROSS NEGLECT OF DUTY
AND GROSS INSUBORDINATION

To recall, you reported for work on 13 December 2018, the last hearing day of the
court for the year of 2018. The following day, or on 14 December 2018, you sent a text
message to the undersigned, notifying the latter that you cannot report for work
because you were not feeling well.1 The undersigned took notice by responding to
your text message with “ok”.2 While you reported for work on 17 December 2018, you
have gone on AWOL, and without notifying either the undersigned or the presiding
judge of this court, since 18 December 2018.

On 03 January 2019, you were again absent without prior notice. The undersigned
sent you a text message, asking if you would be reporting the following day, 3 to which
you did not respond. On 04 January 2019, the undersigned continuously called you
on your cell phone to ask about your condition.4 The calls remained unanswered.
Finally, on 06 January 2019, the undersigned directed you to surrender your office

1
See Annex “A-1” hereof.
2
See Annex “A-2” hereof.
3
See Annex “A-3” hereof.
4
See Annexes “B” and “B-1” hereof.

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keys and any office property that might be in your possession if you no longer had
plans of going back to work.5 Again, no response was forthcoming.

It may not be amiss to state that “[g]ross neglect of duty or gross negligence refers to
negligence characterized by the want of even slight care, acting or omitting to act in a
situation where there is a duty to act, not inadvertently but willfully and intentionally,
with a conscious indifference to consequences, insofar as other persons may be
affected”.6 Gross neglect of duty is punishable by dismissal from service on the first
offense. Gross insubordination, on the other hand, is wilful disobedience of lawful
authority.

In this regard, notice is hereby given to you that your failure to report back for work
and explain your side in writing within the aforesaid period will result in the filing of the
corresponding administrative charges against you for grave neglect of duty and gross
insubordination. Moreover, a request shall be made before the Office of the Court
Administrator to declare that you have officially abandoned your post.

II. FACTUAL BASES OF THE ADMINISTRATIVE

CHARGE FOR GRAVE MISCONDUCT AND
CRIMINAL CHARGE FOR THEFT

Anent the allegation of theft raised against you by Ms. Cruz, take notice that a CCTV
footage dated 07 December 2018 was acquired from the management of ABC
Restaurant in XXX City in support of the same.7

The footage clearly shows you opening a black bag belonging to Ms. Cruz and
surreptitiously placing your left hand inside the same, as if taking something therefrom,
and subsequently placing the thing/s taken from Ms. Cruz’s bag inside your own. As
you may already know, 07 December 2018 was the day when Ms. Cruz lost Php
4,000.00 in cash, which she was certain was secured inside her bag while you two
were dining at ABC Restaurant.

According to Ms. Cruz, when she entered the said restaurant with you, she was certain
that she had Php 9,000.00 cash left inside her bag. Upon finding a table and settling
inside the restaurant, she asked you to look after her bag and other belongings, as
she needed to go to the toilet. You obliged. Thereafter, Ms. Cruz returned to the table,
clueless of what was caught by the CCTV during her toilet break. After eating, Ms.
Cruz took out one Php 1,000.00 bill from her bag to pay her share. You and Ms. Cruz
then parted ways. While Ms. Cruz was already on her way to another establishment,
she did a recount of the cash inside her bag and only then did she discover that she
was missing Php 4,000.00. Ms. Cruz was certain that she never dropped or left the
cash anywhere. Consequently, Ms. Cruz and her family contacted the management
of ABC Restaurant in XXX City to request for a CCTV footage on 07 December 2018
during the time when she was at the toilet. The management sent the footage on 10
December 2018. Your face was clearly revealed at the end of the footage,8 as you
looked directly into the CCTV camera which was located just behind you.

5
See Annex “A-4” hereof.
6
Civil Service Commission vs. Rabang, G.R. No. 167763, March 14, 2008.
7
See Annexes “C-series” hereof.
8
See Annex “C-9” hereof.

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Misconduct has been defined as an intentional wrongdoing or a deliberate violation of
a rule of law or standard of behavior, especially by a government official. A misconduct
is grave where the elements of corruption, clear intent to violate the law or flagrant
disregard of established rule are present.9 On the other hand, the crime of Theft under
Article 308 of the Revised Penal Code is comprised of the following elements: (1) the
taking of personal property; (2) the property belongs to another; (3) the taking away
was done with intent of gain; (4) the taking away was done without the consent of the
owner; and (5) the taking away is accomplished without violence or intimidation
against person or force upon things.10

Proceeding from the above, you are further ordered to show cause and explain in
writing within the given period why you should not be proceeded against,
administratively for grave misconduct and criminally for Theft, relative to the
aforementioned allegations against you by Ms. Cruz.

For your strict compliance.

Sgd.,

ATTY. JUAN DELA CRUZ

Clerk of Court V

9
Imperial vs. GSIS, G.R. No. 191224, October 4, 2011.
10
People vs. Rodrigo, G.R. No. L-18507, March 31, 1966, citing U.S. vs. De Vera, 43 Phil. 1000.