Philippine Supreme Court — INQUIRER FILE PHOTO
MANILA, Philippines — The Supreme Court (SC) affirmed the dismissal of an official of the Office of the Ombudsman for fixing cases, it said on Wednesday.
“In a Decision penned by Associate Justice Samuel H. Gaerlan, the Court’s Third Division upheld the rulings of the Court of Appeals and the Ombudsman finding Rolando B. Zoleta administratively liable for Grave Misconduct, Serious Dishonesty, and Conduct Prejudicial to the Best Interest of the Service,” the SC Public Information Office said.
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Zoleta was the assistant ombudsman for Luzon before he was assigned to the Appeals Bureau of the Office of the Special Prosecutor.
In 2017, the Internal Affairs Board-Investigating Staff filed a complaint against Zoleta, accusing him of offering to help dismiss cases against high-ranking officials under investigation by the Ombudsman.
“The Ombudsman found Zoleta administratively liable and ordered his dismissal from government service. The Court of Appeals affirmed the Ombudsman, prompting Zoleta to file the present petition for review on certiorari,” the High Court said.
“In denying the petition, the Court found that the evidence sufficiently proved that Zoleta engaged in corrupt acts,” it added.
The SC noted that Zoleta could influence cases because he handled trial and appellate work at the Office of the Special Prosecutor.
He also served in the Commission on Audit-Ombudsman joint investigation team.
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Moreover, the SC said verified text messages between Zoleta and a Leonardo Nicolas, Jr. show that the former demanded and received money in exchange for fixing cases.
Copies of documents “likewise reflected the actual cases they have purportedly ‘fixed’ for monetary considerations,” it added.