MANILA – The Supreme Court (SC) has dismissed a Negros Occidental court stenographer for forging her superior’s signature in a falsified court paper issued in exchange for PHP10,000 from a litigant.
In its 14-page per curiam decision published online on March 4, the SC found Bago City, Negros Occidental regional trial court stenographer Evelyn G. Montoyo guilty of two counts of prejudicial conduct, serious dishonesty, and acts of graft, three years away from reaching the compulsory retirement age of 65.
She was ordered dismissed immediately from the service with the forfeiture of all benefits and perpetual disqualification from a government position.
In exchange for the fee, Montoyo made it appear that a petition for cancellation of encumbrance was filed by a complainant and that evidence was submitted. To complete the process, she falsified a court order supposedly granting the petition for cancellation of encumbrance.
The spurious March 2012 order and a certificate of finality were submitted to the Negros Occidental Register of Deeds where the fake court papers were later traced back to the said court.
She had been found to have forged the signature of a judge and branch clerk of court Mary Emilie Templado-Villanueva in the order.
Arnold dela Flor Jr. filed the complaint against Montoya in connection with the title of a parcel of land he bought that bore a memorandum of encumbrance from a certain Allan Sillador. Sillador then accompanied dela Flor to meet with Montoya to address the problem.
Presiding Judge Frances Guanzon ordered the registrar of deeds to defer action after the fake court order was discovered.
The order had caught the eye of Templado-Villanueva who noted that it bore an obsolete numbering system already replaced long ago and noted that it also bore the surname of Sillador, the court's former sheriff who was dismissed from service.
Verification with the register of deeds showed that a transaction had been filed pertaining to the title covered in the fake orders.
The court noted that Montoya admitted to having accepted a PHP10,000 processing fee and duplicate title from the complainant and SIllador.
“Given these circumstances, the OCA (Office of Court Administrator) concluded it was respondent (Montoya), and no other, who authored the fake court issuances,” it added.
The court noted that Montoya tried to pass the blame on to one Mercy Solero, a supposed lawyer-friend but was unable to divulge the whereabouts of the said person, prompting the court to conclude that it was a fictitious person. (PNA)
