SC dismisses Pasig RTC judge for gross ignorance of law
THE Supreme Court has dismissed a Pasig City Regional Trial Court judge for issuing decisions favoring property developer Delfin Lee, president and founder of Globe Asiatique (GA).
In a unanimous decision, the high court found Pasig City RTC Branch 167 Judge Rolando G. Mislang guilty of gross ignorance of the law.
Aside from dismissal from service, the high court also ordered the forfeiture of his retirement benefits except leave credits and barred him from working in any branch or instrumentality of the government, including government-owned and -controlled corporations.
The high court issued the ruling following a separate complaint filed by the Department of Justice (DOJ) and the Home Development Mutual Fund (HDMF) before the high court’s Office of the Court Administrator (OCA).
The complaint was filed after Mislang issued two orders dated Aug. 16 and Aug. 26, 2011 that stopped the DOJ from filing in court a syndicated estafa case against Lee and also prevented the DOJ from investigating the second syndicated estafa case against him.
Both HDMF and the DOJ said in their complaints that Mislang disregarded the rules on injunctive relief and prejudicial question and exhibited gross ignorance of the law and manifested partiality.
The OCA issued a recommendation which was adopted by the high court.
In its ruling, the high court said the two restraining orders issued by Mislang failed to satisfy the legal requisites set under the law.
“The antecedent incidents of the case were clear and simple, as well as the applicable rules. Unfortunately, he miserably failed to properly apply the principles and rules on 3 points i.e. the prematurity of the petition, the inapplicability of the prejudicial question and the lack of jurisdiction of the court,” the high court said adding that “his persistent disregard of well-known elementary rules in favor of Lee clearly reflects his bad faith and partiality.”
The high court noted that this is not the first time that Mislang committed a serious infraction.
It cited a string of administrative cases since April 2007 where he was ordered to pay a fine of P20,000 with a warning that same or similar act will be dealt with more severely.
In one case, he was found guilty of ignorance of the law and was suspended for six months without pay. In another case, he was fined and suspended for six months without pay.
“In order to have a successful implementation of the Court’s and personnel, a rigid set of rules of conduct must necessarily be imposed on judges. The standard of integrity applied to them is – and should be – higher than that of the average person for it is their integrity that gives them the right to judge.”
“Considering Judge Mislang’s obstinate refusal to correct his ways despite previous warnings, the Court is constrained to impose the penalty of dismissal in this case.”
Lee is an accused in a syndicated estafa case in connection with the 2008 housing project with the Pag-Ibig Fund worth over P6 billion./ac/rga
