Sheriff sacked for profiting from judicial notices

SANTIAGO CITY—The Supreme Court has dismissed a court sheriff for receiving payoffs from a local newspaper publisher in exchange for the judicial notices he brings in each week.

These are notices paid for by litigants, which are posted in community newspapers to comply with laws about making public certain court processes like changing a name or legalizing an adoption.

The court investigated Rolando Tomas, a regional trial court deputy sheriff, about a complaint filed by Francisco Taguinod, publisher of the weekly newspaper City Star.

Tomas was tasked by Judge Fe Albano-Madrid of the regional trial court here to allocate judicial notices.

In a Nov. 29 decision, the high court dismissed Tomas and forfeited his retirement benefits, except his accrued leave credits, “with prejudice to reemployment in any branch or instrumentality of the government, including government-owned or -controlled corporations.”

The court also directed Supreme Court administrator Midas Marquez to turn over Tomas’ case to the city prosecutor’s Office.

Taguinod had claimed that there were anomalies in the way the sheriff’s office had been allocating judicial notices to local newspapers, and accused Tomas of taking commissions for notices he had transmitted to the City Star from March to November 1996.

Taguinod submitted photocopies of 10 checks amounting to P26,905.60 that the publisher allegedly issued to Tomas in 1996.

Tomas had admitted receiving money from Taguinod as commissions but had claimed that the money was never solicited.

“[Tomas] has no business receiving any amount, for whatever purpose, from Santiago City’s newspaper publishers,” said the Supreme Court decision.  Villamor Visaya Jr., Inquirer Northern Luzon