x x x x
In actions filed under Rule 65, the petition shall further indicate the material dates showing when notice of the judgment or final order or resolution subject thereof was received, when a motion for new trial or reconsideration, if any, was filed and when notice of the denial thereof was received.
It shall be filed in seven (7) clearly legible copies together with proof of service thereof on the respondent with the original copy intended for the court indicated as such by the petitioner, and shall be accompanied by a clearly legible duplicate original or certified true copy of the judgment, order, resolution, or ruling subject thereof, such material portions of the record as referred to therein, and other documents relevant or pertinent thereto. The certification shall be accomplished by the proper clerk of court or by his duly authorized representative, or by the proper officer of the court, tribunal, agency or office involved or by his duly authorized representative.
The other requisite number of copies of the petition shall be accompanied by clearly legible plain copies of all documents attached to the original.
The failure of the petitioner to comply with any of the foregoing requirements shall be sufficient ground for the dismissal of the petition. (Emphasis supplied.)
Petitioner failed to indicate in her Petition for Certiorari the material date when she filed her Motion for Reconsideration, and to append to the same Petition a certified true copy or duplicate original of the said Motion for Reconsideration.
Rules of procedure are tools designed to promote efficiency and orderliness as well as to facilitate attainment of justice, such that strict adherence thereto is required.
However, technical rules of procedure are not designed to frustrate the ends of justice.
The Court is fully aware that procedural rules are not to be belittled or simply disregarded, for these prescribed procedures insure an orderly and speedy administration of justice.
However, it is equally true that litigation is not merely a game of technicalities.
Law and jurisprudence grant to courts the prerogative to relax compliance with procedural rules of even the most mandatory character, mindful of the duty to reconcile both the need to put an end to litigation speedily and the parties’ right to an opportunity to be heard.
This is not to say that adherence to the Rules could be dispensed with.
However, exigencies and situations might occasionally demand flexibility in their application.
In not a few instances, the Court relaxed the rigid application of the rules of procedure to afford the parties the opportunity to fully ventilate their cases on the merit.
This is in line with the time-honored principle that cases should be decided only after giving all parties the chance to argue their causes and defenses. Technicality and procedural imperfection should, thus, not serve as basis of decisions.
In that way, the ends of justice would be better served.
2.) SC found her GUILTY.
In Sanchez v. Court of Appeals (2003), the Court restated the reasons that may provide justification for a court to suspend a strict adherence to procedural rules, such as:
a.) matters of life, liberty, honor or property;
b.) the existence of special or compelling circumstances; c.) the merits of the case;
d.) a cause not entirely attributable to the fault or negligence of the party favored by the suspension of the rules;
e.) a lack of any showing that the review sought is merely frivolous and dilatory; and
f.) the other party will not be unjustly prejudiced thereby.
In administrative proceedings, such as in the case at bar, procedural due process simply means the opportunity to explain one’s side or the opportunity to seek a reconsideration of the action or ruling complained of.
"To be heard" does not mean only verbal arguments in court; one may be heard also thru pleadings.
Where opportunity to be heard, either through oral arguments or pleadings, is accorded, there is no denial of procedural due process.
In administrative proceedings, procedural due process has been recognized to include the following:
1.) the right to actual or constructive notice of the institution of proceedings, which may affect a respondent’s legal rights;
2.) a real opportunity to be heard personally or with the assistance of counsel, to present witnesses and evidence in one’s favor, and to defend one’s rights;
3.) a tribunal vested with competent jurisdiction and so constituted as to afford a person charged administratively a reasonable guarantee of honesty as well as impartiality; and
4.) a finding by said tribunal which is supported by substantial evidence submitted for consideration during the hearing or contained in the records or made known to the parties affected.
The Decision dated 27 February 2006 of CSCRO No. XII, affirmed by the CSC, which dismissed petitioner from service for Dishonesty, Grave Misconduct, and Conduct Prejudicial to the Best Interest of the Service, is supported by competent and credible evidence.
The law requires that the quantum of proof necessary for a finding of guilt in administrative cases is substantial evidence or such relevant evidence as a reasonable mind may accept as adequate to support a conclusion.
Well-entrenched is the rule that substantial proof, and not clear and convincing evidence or proof beyond reasonable doubt, is sufficient basis for the imposition of any disciplinary action upon an employee.
The standard of substantial evidence is satisfied where the employer has reasonable ground to believe that the employee is responsible for the misconduct, and his participation therein renders him unworthy of trust and confidence demanded by his position.
There is such substantial evidence herein to prove petitioner guilty of the administrative offenses for which she was charged.
Even only a cursory examination of petitioner’s pictures and signatures in her PDS dated 10 November 1994, and in the AF and PSP for the CS Professional Examination of 29 November 1992, on one hand; and petitioner’s purported pictures and signatures in the AF and PSP for the CSC Professional Examination of 17 October 1993, on the other, reveals their marked differences from one another.
It can be observed by the naked eye that the pictures and signatures bear little resemblance/similitude, or none at all.
The pictures could not have been those of the same individual, nor could the signatures have been made by the same person.
As a general rule, the findings of fact of the CSC and the Court of Appeals are accorded great weight.
In a plethora of cases, we have held that lower courts are in a better position to determine the truth of the matter in litigation, since the pieces of evidence are presented before them, and they are able to look into the credibility and the demeanor of the witnesses on the witness stand.
Furthermore, quasi-judicial bodies like the CSC are better-equipped in handling cases involving the employment status of employees as those in the Civil Service since it is within the field of their expertise.
Factual findings of administrative agencies are generally held to be binding and final so long as they are supported by substantial evidence in the record of the case.
The Supreme Court is not a trier of facts.
Its jurisdiction is limited to reviewing and revising errors of law imputed to the lower court, its findings of fact being conclusive and not reviewable by this Court.
We cannot even consider the possibility that the CSC officials who supervised the examinations committed a mistake in matching the pictures and signatures vis-à-vis the examinees, as the said CSC officials enjoy the presumption of regularity in the performance of their official duty.
Besides, such a mix-up is highly unlikely due to the strict procedures followed during civil service examinations, described in detail in Cruz v. Civil Service Commission (2001), to wit:
“It should be stressed that as a matter of procedure, the room examiners assigned to supervise the conduct of a Civil Service examination closely examine the pictures submitted and affixed on the Picture Seat Plan (CSC Resolution No. 95-3694, Obedencio, Jaime A.). The examiners carefully compare the appearance of each of the examinees with the person in the picture submitted and affixed on the PSP.
In cases where the examinee does not look like the person in the picture submitted and attached on the PSP, the examiner will not allow the said person to take the examination (CSC Resolution No. 95-5195, Taguinay, Ma. Theresa).”
The only logical scenario is that another person, who matched the picture in the PSP, actually signed the AF and took the CS Professional Examination on 17 October 1993, in petitioner’s name.
Further, testimonies of witnesses Casanguan and Yasa do not stand conclusive of the fact that it was indeed respondent who took the said examination.
On the witness stand, it was made clear that he only saw the name of Hadji Sirad in the list of examinees posted outside Room 003.
Further, that the only time he saw Hadji Sirad was prior to the start of the examination.
Clearly, he did not see Hadji Sirad actually take the exam nor hand in her examination papers after she finished the examination.
Finally, it is stressed that the fact that Yasa is a long-time employee of the Commission does not render his statements relative to the conduct of the 1993 CS Professional examination in Iligan City as gospel truth.
DISPOSITION: Petition DENIED. CA AFFIRMED.