CA downgrades former BID chief Mison’s case to simple misconduct

The Court of Appeals has downgraded the case against former Bureau of Immigration and Deportation (BID) Commissioner Siegfred Mison regarding the questionable reassignment of an intelligence officer in 2015 from grave to simple misconduct.

In a 15-page decision, the appeals court’s third division partly granted Mison’s petition for review as it modified the January 16, 2017 joint order of the Office of the Ombudsman.

The Ombudsman found him guilty of grave misconduct and ordered his dismissal from service.

The case stemmed from the complaint filed by Intelligence Agent II Ma. Irene Arsena Bello after she was reassigned from the BI Main Office in Manila to the bureau’s Davao District Office.

Bello received the reassignment order on July 28, 2015. She submitted her letter of appeal on the same day and also appealed her case before the Civil Service Commission (CSC).

Later, Mison informed Bello that her name had been dropped from the rolls due to her alleged long, continuous, and unauthorized absences. In a resolution, the Ombudsman said Mison’s order lacked prior approval from the Justice Secretary.

But in partly granting Mison’s petition, the appeals court said “after a careful perusal of the records, we are convinced that Mison is not guilty of grave misconduct but should be held liable [for a lighter offense].”

“Findings of fact by the OMB are conclusive when supported by substantial evidence or that amount of relevant evidence which a reasonable mind might accept as adequate to support a conclusion. However, this rule on conclusiveness of factual findings is not an absolute one,” it added.

The court said Mison is “guilty of simple misconduct and meted the penalty of three months suspension with the stern warning that a repetition of the same or similar acts will warrant a more severe penalty.”

“In the event that the penalty of suspension can no longer be enforced, a fine equivalent to [Mison’s] three – month salary shall be imposed, payable to the [Ombudsman], and may be deductible from his accrued leave credits or any receivable from his office,” the appeals court said.

The CA said Mison’s petition was partly meritorious and pointed out that he is liable only for simple misconduct.

The decision was written by Associate Justice Pedro Corales and concurred in by Associate Justices Rosmari Carandang and Elihu Ybanez. /ee