MANILA – The Supreme Court (SC) has dismissed a petition filed by former Commission on Human Rights (CHR) commissioner Cecilia Rachel "Coco" V. Quisumbing questioning the Office of the Ombudsman's 2014 decision dismissing her from government service on bribery and misconduct charges.
In a decision written by Associate Justice Samuel Gaerlan and recently made available online, the SC's First Division concurred with Sept. 24, 2014 memorandum of then executive secretary Paquito Ochoa and the October 1, 2014 memorandum of then CHR chairperson Loretta Ann Rosales, which implemented the Ombudsman's August 28, 2014 joint resolution imposing on Quisumbing the penalty of dismissal from government service.
Quisumbing, a former television newscaster, was a CHR commissioner when she was administratively charged with direct bribery, grave misconduct, and violation of the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act in several complaint-affidavits filed by members of her staff.
According to the complainants Ma. Regina D. Eugenio, Elizabeth Diego-Buizon, Alexander B. Fernandez, and Jesse K. Ayuste, Quisumbing was often cruel, imperious, and disrespectful to her staff. Quisumbing had a tendency to scream at her staff whenever she was addressed incorrectly or her instructions were not followed to the letter.
Furthermore, Quisumbing would sometimes issue illegal or improper orders to her staff, including ordering Eugenio to falsify the total number of undistributed T-shirts made for the celebration of the 60th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, and ordered her staff to turn over their salary ATM cards to her.
Eugenio also claimed that Quisumbing offered her a promotion, on the condition that her responsibilities would remain the same and that Quisumbing would receive and keep the amount of the resultant salary differential as part of the "CRVQ Office Fund."
Upon Quisumbing's orders, Eugenio drafted an agreement to that effect but did not sign thereon. The promotion pushed through and Eugenio gave Quisumbing her salary differential for the period January to July 2013.
In upholding her dismissal, the SC said the memoranda issued by Malacanang and the CHR chairperson are based on the Ombudsman's August 28, 2014 joint resolution which imposed the penalty of dismissal from the service on Quisuimbing and pointed out that Quisumbing does not dispute the Ombudsman's jurisdiction over her position as CHR Commissioner.
The SC said the Ombudsman's joint resolution is immediately executory, despite the pendency of Quisumbing's motion for reconsideration and that the Ombudsman need not issue a separate order for the implementation because the Ombudsman Rules of Procedure already ordain its immediate implementation.
"Since the Joint Resolution is immediately executory, respondents did not commit grave abuse of discretion when they issued the assailed memoranda. In fact, they were simply following the law and giving due respect to the orders of the Ombudsman," the SC said.
Last October, the Sandiganbayan acquitted Quisumbing on the charges after she claimed that she had merely acted as a custodian of PHP41,292 she had received from Eugenio representing the latter's salary adjustment upon promotion from Administrative Aide VI to Senior Administrative Assistant III.
The anti-graft court said that while not criminal in nature, Quisumbin should not have allowed herself to be the custodian of the funds and described the act as unethical and inappropriate. (PNA)
