DISMISSED. Ifugao State University-Timoc lost its chairperson who is also a professor after she was dismissed due to dishonesty and misconduct. The Court of Appeals affirmed the 2017 decision of the Civil Service Commission dropping her from the service. (Photo courtesy of IFSU Facebook)
MANILA – The Court of Appeals (CA) has affirmed the decision of the Civil Service Commission (CSC) dismissing a professor for misconduct and dishonesty.
The CA’s Twelfth Division, in a decision dated March 9, 2021 by Associate Justice Danteon Q. Bueser, denied the appeal of Junia Pugong, an assistant professor of the Ifugao State University and chairperson of its Timoc campus.
In June 2016, student officers, applicant teachers, drivers and job order instructors filed a complaint against Pugong for grave misconduct for reducing the allotted transportation fare for students and employees during the 2014 Foundation Day celebrations.
The complainants also accused her of dishonesty by assigning another to do her teaching load.
The CSC in July 2017 found her guilty.
In its decision, the appellate court said “to warrant dismissal from the service, she must have committed a specific act or misconduct which must be grave, serious, important, weighty, momentous and not trifling. The misconduct must imply wrongful intention and not a mere error of judgment.” (PNA)
