Castro v. Field Investigation Office

CAGUIOA, J.:

The Case This is a petition for review on certiorari1 (Petition) filed under Rule 45 of the Rules of Court against the Decision2 dated April 29, 2009 (Assailed Decision) and Resolution3 dated June 23, 2010 (Assailed Resolution) in CA-G.R. SP No. 99752 rendered by the Second Division of the Court of Appeals (CA). The Assailed Decision and Resolution stem from an appeal from the Decision4 dated March 26, 2007 rendered by the Office of the Ombudsman (Ombudsman) in OMB-C-A-05-0617-K, finding petitioner Leovigildo A. De Castro (Leovigildo) guilty of Dishonesty and Grave Misconduct, and imposing upon him the penalty of dismissal from service, cancellation of civil service eligibility, forfeiture of retirement benefits, and perpetual disqualification from re-employment in the government service. The' administrative charges filed against Leovigildo are anchored on his alleged failure to file truthful Statements of Assets and Liabilities (SALNs) for the years 1994, 1995 and 1996, and explain the manifest disproportion between his declared income for the years 1973 to 2004 and the value of the assets he acquired within the same period.5 The Facts Leovigildo began working in the Bureau of Customs (BOC) on December 4, 19736 as storekeeper at the Manila International Airport.7 Since then, Leovigildo had been assigned to occupy the following positions:8 Year of Assignment Position 1979 Common Bonded Inspector 1980 Common Bonded Supervisor 1986 Customs Operations Assistant Chief 1989 Supervising Customs Operations Officer 1996 Chief Customs Operations Officer Marina Rios (Marina), Leovigildo's wife, also served in government.

Sometime in July 1969, Marina began working as a clerk in the now defunct Philippine Atomic Energy Commission.9Thereafter, Marina rose through the ranks, until she retired as a training officer sometime in 1988.10 Based on the Certificates of Employment and Compensation which form part of the records of the case, Leovigildo and Marina's declared income from 1974 to 2004 amounted to ₱l0,841,412.28.11 Sometime in 2003, the Ombudsman, through its Field Investigation Office (FIO), conducted motu proprio lifestyle checks on government officials and employees. 12Leovigildo was among those evaluated. The findings of the FIO in respect of Leovigildo's assets and net worth are summarized as follows: Documents revealed that [Leovigildo] earns primarily from his salary as an employee of the [BOC].

[Leovigildo's] annual salary as of 2004 is estimated at [₱]303,052.54, including allowances and bonuses. [Leovigildo's] [SALN] from 1994 to 2003 showed that neither he nor his spouse had financial connections and business interests. Thus, [Leovigildo] [had] no other source of income except his salary from employment.

Leovigildo ], in his SALN from 1997 to 2003, declared a residential house and lot in Parafiaque, a house and lot in Taal[,] Batangas, and an agricultural land in Laguna. [Leovigildo] also disclosed that he acquired a car worth [₱]625,000.00 in 2002. Records show that there are other properties and business interests belonging to [Leovigildo] which were not declared in his SALN s such as his investments amounting to ₱416,669.00 in Lemar Export and Import Corporation, which was incorporated on 25 May 1994.

There are also properties registered under the name (sic) of [Leovigildo's] children, which should be considered as part of his undisclosed assets, in view of the fact that during the time of the acquisition, the children have (sic) no sources of income or means of livelihood of their own. 13 The assets in the names of Leovigildo' s children (Disputed Assets), which FIO alleged should be attributed to Leovigildo, are further summarized as follows: 14 Asset Acquisition Cost Date of Acauisition Registered Owner Age at Acquisition Investment in Lemar Export and Import Corporation (Lemar Corp.) ₱625,003.50 May 25, 1994 Marina Rose and Leo Gerald, jointly with Leovigildo Marina Rose - 18 Leo Gerald - 24 450 square-meter (sq. m.) residential house and lot in Muntinlupa City ₱5,708,600.0015 December 3, 1997 Leo Gerald 27 Investment in De Castro Oral Implant Center ₱500,000.00 February 28, 1998 Leo Gerald 28 Condominium unit in Makati City ₱3,984,929.75 August 28, 1998 Leo Gerald 28 Investment in Lemar General Trading (Lemar Trading) ₱3,500,000.0016 February 2, 1999 Leo Gerald Marie Aleli (Aleli) Marie Antoinette (Antoinette) Leovigildo, Jr. Marina Rose Leo Gerald - 29 Aleli - 28 Antoinette - 26 Leovigildo, Jr. - 24 Marina Rose - 23 Condominium unit in Ayala Alabang, Muntinlupa City ₱5,676,861.64 July 8, 1999 Leovigildo, Jr. 24 Toyota Land Cruiser ₱2,800,000.00 June 19, 2000 Leo Gerald 30 Investment in Ceraco Corporation (Ceraco) ₱120,000.00 December 19, 2001 Leovigildo, Jr. 26 Investment in Le Mar Dental Clinic ₱l00,000.00 January 21, 2003 Marina Rose 27 Honda CRV Wagon ₱701,832.00 on installment basis February 27, 2004 Marina Rose 28 Total Value ₱23,717,226.89 In addition to Leovigildo's alleged undisclosed assets and investments, the FIO also found that based on Bureau of Immigration (Bl) records, Leovigildo and his family had taken seventy (70) outbound flights between 1993-2004 to several countries, including Japan, Hong Kong and South Korea.

The FIO pegged the cost of such trips at ₱30,000.00 each, bringing the De Castros' total estimated travel cost to ₱2,100,000.00.17 Consequently, the FIO concluded that Leovigildo and Marina's assets and expenses from 1974-2004 amounted to ₱30,829,603.48, 18 and found that this was manifestly disproportionate to their declared income of ₱l0,841,412.28.19 Proceedings before the Ombudsman Subsequently, the FIO filed a Complaint20 dated October 5, 2005 before the Ombudsman, charging Leovigildo of Dishonesty, Grave Misconduct and Conduct Prejudicial to the Best Interest of the Service, pursuant to Section 22 of the Omnibus Rules Implementing Book V of Executive Order No. 29221 (Omnibus Rules).22 In the same Complaint, FIO prayed that (i) a preliminary investigation be conducted against Leovigildo for violation of Section 8 of Republic Act No. (R.A.) 671323and Article 183 of the Revised Penal Code;24and (ii) forfeiture proceedings be lodged against Leovigildo, Marina, and their children.

25 On March 24, 2006, the Ombudsman issued an Order placing Leovigildo under preventive suspension.26 In his Counter-Affidavit27 dated August 28, 2006, Leovigildo maintained that the assets which he and Marina acquired while in government service were all reported in their respective SALNs. Leovigildo summarized these assets accordingly: Income from 1974 to 2004 Less: Properties acquired (at acquisition cost): - House and [lot], Paranaque - House and lot at Taal, Batangas - Agricultural land, Sta. Maria, Laguna - Toyota Premio - Other personal properties Expenses: - Cash donation to Leo Gerald, 1995 - Wedding gift to Leo Gerald and Angelica Beatriz, 1998 Available funds for family/other expenses Less: Cash on hand [as of] December 31, 2004 Actual family and other expenses