CA nixes Ombud ruling against controversial fiscal

Good news for controversial prosecutor Mary Ann Castro at the start of the year. The Court of Appeals (CA) reversed an earlier ruling of the Ombudsman Visayas which held Castro administratively liable for purportedly filing a petition for annulment of her marriage in two different courts.

In a decision penned by Associate Justice Pamela Maxino, the appellate court said the Ombudsman made a mistake in suspending Castro for three months. Maxino reversed and set aside the anti-graft office’s ruling and ordered that Castro be paid with her “full back salaries and other emoluments that she did not receive by reason of her three-month suspension.”

“There is no substantial evidence to hold Castro liable for misconduct in office. Certainly, the decision and order of the Ombudsman with respect to the administrative aspect of the case are invalid,” Maximo said. In a text message sent to Cebu Daily News, Castro said she’s discussing with her lawyer the possibility of filing a criminal case against former Asst. Ombudsman Virginia Palanca-Santiago who ordered her suspension. Castro said she will seek damages from Santiago worth P10 million.

The CA said the administrative proceedings before the Ombudsman should have been suspended or deferred until the rendition of final judgment in the case. “The act of the Ombudsman in proceeeding with the administrative aspect of the complaint and resolving the administrative case of grave misconduct is unjustified,” Maxino said.

Also, Maxino said Castro did not violate the rule against forum shopping which happens when a plaintiff or defendant pursue their case in two possible courts. The Ombudsman-Visayas earlier ordered the three-month suspension against Castro for accusations of misconduct. The penalty was implemented in 2011 when Castro’s salaries and allowances were withheld by the Department of Justice.

The case stemmed from the complaint filed by brothers Nanak and Jake Yu who accused Castro of violating a Supreme Court rule on “non-forum shopping” by filing a petition for annulment of her marriage in two different courts. Castro explained that the trial court dismissed the perjury charges filed against her by the Yu brothers who figured in a confrontation with her in 2004.

In dismissing the criminal case, Municipal Trial Court Judge Anacleto Debalucos of Barili said the two petitions for annulment of marriage filed by Castro have “different causes of actions.”

The brothers accused Castro of lying before the Mandaue City Court and another Barili judge about her status in a petition for the annulment of her marriage. The Yu brothers and Castro feuded over the prosecutor’s parked car, which she left in front of their store in 2004./Reporter Ador Vincent Mayol