CA upholds administrative sanctions vs ex-DOJ chief Agnes Devanadera

Former Justice Sceretary Agnes Devanadera. INQUIRER FILE PHOTO

MANILA, Philippines—The Court of Appeals (CA) has affirmed administrative sanctions against former Justice Secretary Agnes Devanadera over questionable allowances she granted herself and her staff when she was the government corporate counsel.

The CA’s Sixth Division, however, lowered the penalty from suspension of one year without pay to a fine equivalent to six months’ worth of her salary when she was government corporate counsel in 2007.

“[Devanadera] is hereby found guilty of simple misconduct, simple neglect of duty and conduct prejudicial to the best interest of the service. In lieu of the penalty of suspension of one year without pay, she is ordered to pay a fine equivalent to her salary as government corporate counsel for six months. She is ordered to restitute to the Office of the Government Corporate Counsel (OGCC) trust liability account the total amount of P760,000,” stated the 23-page decision written by Justice Romeo Barza.

The other division members, Justices Hakim Abdulwahid and Ramon Cruz, concurred in the decision.

The CA’s ruling modified the decisions rendered by the Office of the Ombudsman in March 2010 and February 2012, both of which Devanadera elevated to the appeals tribunal through a petition for review.

According to court records, Devanadera’s office entered into an agreement with the Government Service Insurance System (GSIS) to handle the extrajudicial foreclosure of delinquent real estate loans and paid for the actual cost incurred while the OGCC would get special assessment fees for its help.

The antigraft office alleged that Devanadera earned P500,000 while her then executive assistant, Rolando Faller, got P200,000 in attorney’s fees in the transaction.

The Ombudsman had previously found Devanadera, Faller and her other staff, Jose Ma. Capili, and Divina Gracia Cruz, guilty of grave misconduct, dishonesty and conduct prejudicial to the best interest of the service.

As a consequence, they were meted out the supreme penalty of dismissal from the service, including accessory penalties of cancellation of civil service eligibility, forfeiture of retirement benefits and perpetual disqualification for re-employment in the government service.

The CA noted that the Commission on Audit itself “thought the petitioner’s actions were permissible under the law,” adding, “Furthermore, the records of the case even show that monies received by petitioner and Faller were subjected to taxes before they received the same.”

All these facts, the court said, “entitle petitioner to claim good faith.”

The tribunal also took note of the fact that Devanadera and Faller were not the only ones who received attorney’s fees by virtue of the special assessment fees paid by the GSIS.

“For misconduct considered as grave, there must be willful intent on the part of the public officer to disregard established rules.”

With respect to petitioner’s act of ordering the release of funds to reimburse her and Faller for the amount they used in buying reading materials for the OGCC, the court found that “there was error on the part of the Ombudsman in finding petitioner guilty of grave misconduct.”

The justices said Devanadera can be made liable only for simple neglect of duty for the same.

Devanadera was government corporate counsel from September 2004 to September 2007, after which she was appointed solicitor general. She became justice secretary in January 2010 but resigned two months later to run for Congress.

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