Over marriage anomalies: SC dismisses 4 Cebu judges

CEBU, Philippines - The Supreme Court (SC) has dismissed four judges in Cebu City over anomalies in solemnization of marriages in their respective court branches discovered six years ago.

In an administrative decision released yesterday, the high court imposed the ultimate penalty for erring government officers on Municipal Trial Court in Cities (MTCC) Branch 2 Judge Anatalio Necessario, Branch 3 Judge Gil Acosta, Branch 4 Judge Rosabella Tormis and Branch 8 Judge Edgemelo Rosales.

All four were found guilty of gross inefficiency and neglect of duty and have been ordered dismissed from the judicial service with forfeiture of all retirement benefits and perpetual disqualification from holding any government post.

This was the second dismissal from service of Tormis.

Last month, the SC also ordered her dismissal for her failure to act on cases within the mandatory period.

The high court upheld findings of its Office of Court Administrator (OCA) that Necessario, Tormis and Rosales solemnized marriages even if the requirements submitted by the couples were incomplete and had visible signs of tampering, erasures, corrections or superimpositions of entries related to the parties’ place of residence.

It was also found that the three judges had solemnized marriages where a contracting party is a foreigner who did not submit a certificate of legal capacity to marry from his or her embassy as required by Article 21 of the Family Code.

The SC explained that such inefficiencies constituted “negligence, incompetence, ignorance, and carelessness.”

Marriage documents examined by the OCA audit team also showed that corresponding official receipts for the solemnization fees were missing, which led the high court to conclude that the judges had also neglected their duties.

The high tribunal also bared that Necessario, Acosta and Tormis solemnized marriages where a party was a minor during cohabitation period. This, the SC ruled, violated Article 34 of the Family Code.

Lastly, it was found that the MTCC judges had solemnized marriages even without a prior license issued. Contrary to the rules, the couples were made to fill up the application for a license on the same day the marriage was solemnized.

Apart from the four judges, the SC has also penalized six court personnel from the MTCC branches for their involvement in the anomalous solemnization of marriages.

Court interpreter Helen Mongaya and administrative officer Rhona Rodriguez were dismissed from service, process server Desiderio Aranas and court interpreter Rebecca Alesna were suspended for six months without pay, while court clerk Celeste Retuya and stenographer  Emma Valencia were admonished.

The SC ruling stemmed from a report submitted by the OCA in August 2007, which revealed that certain package fees were offered to interested parties by “fixers” or “facilitators” for “instant marriages” in the MTCCs.

Investigation showed that the number of solemnized marriages was way higher than the number of marriage certificates in the courts’ custody.

There was also an unusual number of marriage licenses obtained from the local civil registrars of the towns of Barili and Liloan.

The OCA cited for instance cases of marriages solemnized at 9 a.m. with marriage licenses obtained on the same day when the town of Barili is two hours away from Cebu City.

Motion for reconsideration

Rosales said he would file a motion for reconsideration once he receives the official copy of the decision.

He said the decision of the SC was “harsh” considering it was their first offense.

While waiting for the decision, he said he will continue hearing cases at his sala.

Tormis, for her part, said the decision of the SC was a “work of devil.”

Necessario and Acosta were not available for comment yesterday. —Mylen P. Manto/LPM (FREEMAN)