CA affirms suspension of DOST exec for inaccurate SALN

MANILA, Philippines - For failure to identify his son-in-law in his official asset declaration, an assistant secretary of the Department of Science and Technology (DOST) has been suspended for a month by the Court of Appeals (CA).

In upholding an order of the Office of the Ombudsman, the CA said Mariano Bravo, DOST assistant secretary for administration, legal and financial affairs, should be held administratively liable for the inaccurate entry in his statement of assets, liabilities and net worth (SALN), even if it was an honest mistake.

In a 12-page decision issued yesterday, the special 15th division of the appellate court cited violation of Section 8, in relation to Section 11 of Republic Act 6713 or the Code of Conduct and Ethical Standards for Public Officials and Employees.

The law requires public officials to file under oath their SALNs and a disclosure of business interests and financial connections under pain of imprisonment or fine, dismissal or removal, as well as disqualification from public office.

In his petition filed before the CA, Bravo argued that the Ombudsman gravely abused its discretion amounting to lack or excess of jurisdiction in finding him liable for simple negligence, considering that incompleteness of his SALN was not done deliberately or willfully but due to inadvertence.

But the appellate court, through Associate Justice Isaias Dicdican, held that the purpose of RA 6713 is to promote a high standard of ethics in public service.

It added that public officials and employees are required to discharge their duties with utmost responsibility, integrity, competence and loyalty.

With this, CA ruled that the Ombudsman correctly held in its ruling issued on Oct. 14, 2010 that there was enough evidence to show Bravo violated Section 88, in relation to Section 11, of RA 6713 for his failure to identify and disclose the name of his son-in-law in his SALN.

“Thus, it can be gleaned from the foregoing that petitioner was, in fact, guilty of simple negligence only and not gross misconduct or dishonesty for having failed to ascertain that his SALN was accomplished properly and accurately,” the CA said.

“Petitioner was negligent when he relied on his staff to fill out his SALN without disclosing his son-in-law and without verifying the correctness of the entries therein,” it added.

The issue of the inaccurate declaration in SALN is one of the complaints embodied in the Articles of Impeachment filed against Chief Justice Renato Corona.

Corona is being tried by the Senate impeachment court for alleged culpable violation of the Constitution and/or betrayal of public trust by failing to disclose his SALN as the Constitution provides.

Court records showed that Bravo was first appointed as assistant secretary for financial affairs at the then Department of Education, Culture and Sports in 1998.

In 2005, petitioner transferred to the DOST where he assumed his current post.

On Jan. 15, 2009, Bravo received a complaint filed by the Ombudsman’s Field Investigation Office (FIO), alleging that he had violated Article 183 of the Revised Penal Code, Section 8 in relation to Section 11 of RA 6713 and Section 2 of the Rules Implementing the Code of Conduct and Ethical Standards for Public Officials and Employees and dishonesty, grave misconduct and conduct prejudicial to the best interest of the service.

In the complaint, the FIO accused Bravo of non-declaration of a residential lot located at Villa Amor subdivision in Caloocan City; non-disclosure of a relative, his son-in-law, Richell Corilla, an employee in DepEd; perjurious acts by indicating spurious community tax certificate (CTC) numbers used in his SALNs from 1999 to 2003; and willful failure to indicate CTCs in his SALNs from 1995 to 1997, and 2004-2005.