The #SupremeCourtPH (SC) has emphasized that sheriffs, when serving the court’s writs and processes and implementing its orders, must perform their duties with the utmost care and diligence, as any mistake affects the administration of justice.
In a Decision written by Senior Associate Justice Marvic M.V.F. Leonen, the SC En Banc dismissed Vicente S. Sicat, Jr. (Sicat) for repeatedly failing to properly perform his duties as Sheriff in the Office of the Clerk of Court of the Regional Trial Court, Angeles City, Pampanga.
Sicat was ordered by the Municipal Circuit Trial Court to seize and sell, through a writ of execution, the properties of an accused in an Anti-Bouncing Checks Law case, to satisfy a judgment. However, the complainant alleged that Sicat improperly submitted a Notice to Lift the Levy on Potts’ real properties to the Register of Deeds without a court order. This led to the cancellation of the levy, allowing the accused to transfer the property to another person.
The SC stressed that sheriffs must strictly adhere to procedural rules to ensure the proper enforcement of court orders. Any deviation from these procedures can undermine the administration of justice and warrants disciplinary action.
While Sicat’s failure to follow procedure made him liable for simple neglect of duty, which carries with it a penalty of suspension from office, the SC took note of Sicat’s long history of administrative infractions in his 40-year career in the Judiciary as it dismissed him from service.
The SC lamented that Sicat’s “deplorable track record in the Judiciary reveals a pattern of unwillingness to reform, deeming it worthy of the gravest penalty.”
Read the full text of the Press Release at https://t.co/6GELHLvWyE.
Read the full text of the Decision at https://t.co/QYIOBQjC08.
Read the Separate Concurring Opinion of Associate Justice Antonio T. Kho, Jr. at https://t.co/j73mJzn98G.
Copying of this content is subject to the SC PIO’s Credit Attribution Policy: https://t.co/F48RF1vtzZ.