Fiscal says it's not yet final Ombudsman orders Castro suspended for 3 months

MANILA, Philippines - The Office of the Ombudsman has suspended Assistant City Prosecutor Mary Ann Castro for three months after she found guilty for misconduct in an administrative case.

The Ombudsman ordered the Secretary of the Department of Justice to implement the decision of the office, but Castro said the order is not yet final and executory.

This stemmed from a complaint filed the Ombudsman against Castro for forum shopping in her annulment case against her husband.

This case was originally in 2006, but Castro filed a motion for reconsideration. It was only in June 2010 when the decision was approved by Deputy Ombudsman for Luzon Mark Jalandoni.

The Ombudsman Visayas, however, only released the decision last Tuesday. Castro told The FREEMAN that the order is not yet final and executory as she has filed a motion to dismiss the case last week.

Castro said she filed the motion to dismiss because of the dismissal of her criminal case for perjury by Judge Anacleto Debalucos of the Municipal Trial Court of Barili.

Castro said the case for misconduct was filed in connection with perjury case “knowingly making untruthful statement under oath” in the verification and certification against forum shopping in her petition for annulment of marriage in Barili.

However, Castro added the Ombudsman has to rule first on her motion to dismiss and added she will not pre-empt what will be the outcome of her motion.

“Let just wait for the resolution of my motion to dismiss case filed before I will comment to the order of the Ombudsman for my suspension,” Castro said.

ORDER OF THE OMBUDSMAN

Graft Investigator Vicente Roble, Jr. said the allegation of respondent that she is twice placed in jeopardy has no basis.

Castro, in her motion for reconsideration, said that the complaint filed against her has no relation at all to the performance of her function as Assistant City Prosecutor.

But, Roble cited jurisprudence Remolona vs. Civil Service Commission stating “the private life of an employee cannot be segregated from his public life. Dishonesty inevitably reflects on the fitness of the officer or employee to continue in office and the discipline and morale of the service.”

PERJURY CASE DISMISSED

Judge Debalucos dismissed the perjury case filed by the Office of the Ombudsman against Castro after he did not find any elements of perjury.

The Ombudsman alleged that Castro made untruthful statement under oath in her verification and certification against forum shopping in the petition for annulment of marriage she filed in Barili.

Castro filed a verified petition for declaration of nullity of marriage against her husband, Rocky Rommel Roa in two courts Barili and Mandaue.

But Debalucos, after a careful examination of the facts, found that the petitions for declaration of nullity of marriage filed in RTC-56 Mandaue City and in RTC-60 Barili are different.

“The petition filed in RTC Mandaue was for the declaration of nullity of marriage for the grounds of psychological incapacity and in RTC Barili the petition filed was on the ground of fraud of the Family Code,” Debalucos said.

“In short, forum shopping does not exist in the two petitions,” Debalucos ruled. — /NLQ (FREEMAN)