Wednesday, September 12, 2012

TERESITA G. NARVASA VS. BENJAMIN A. SANCHEZ, JR. G.R. No. 16944 March 26, 2010


TERESITA G. NARVASA vs. BENJAMIN A. SANCHEZ, JR.
       G.R. No. 16944 March 26, 2010

FACTS:

         The parties to this case are employees of the Municipality of Diadi, Nueva Vizcaya (the LGU). Petitioner Teresita G. Narvasa is a senior bookkeeper while respondent Benjamin A. Sanchez, Jr. is the municipal assessor.
          The instant case stemmed from three cases of sexual harassment filed separately against respondent by petitioner along with Mary Gay P. de la Cruz and Zenaida M.Gayaton, who are also employees of the LGU. De la Cruz claimed that, sometime in February 2000, respondent handed her a note saying, “Gay, I like you.” Offended by respondent’s inappropriate remark, de la Cruz admonished him for giving her such a note and told him that she would give the note to his wife. Respondent then grabbed the note from her and tore it into pieces.  However, this first incident was followed by a message sent to De la Cruz sometime in March 2002 in which he said, “Ka date ko si Mary Gay… ang tamis nghalik mo.
        On the other hand, Gayaton narrated that, on April 5, 2002, respondent whispered to her during a retirement program, “Oy flawless, pumanaw ka met ditan” while twice pinching her upper left arm near the shoulder in a slow manner.
        A few days later, Gayaton received a text message while she was passing respondent’s car in front of the municipal hall. The message said, “Pauwi ka na ba sexy?”Gayaton later verified through respondent’s clerk, Alona Agas, that the sender of the message was respondent.
         On or about April 22 to 25, 2002, Gayaton received several messages from respondent stating: (1) “I like you”; (2) “Have a date with me”; (3) “Don’t tell to others that I told that I like you because nakakahiya”; (4) “Puso mo to pag bigay moto sakin, I would be very happy” and (5) “I slept and dreamt nice things about you.”
          Finally, as far as petitioner’s complaint was concerned, she asserted that, on November 18, 2000, during a field trip of officers and members of the St. Joseph Multi-Purpose Cooperative to the Grotto Vista Resort in Bulacan, respondent pulled her towards him and attempted to kiss her. Petitioner resisted and was able to escape the clutches of respondent to rejoin the group that they were travelling with. Respondent apologized to petitioner thrice regarding that incident.
Based on the investigation conducted by the LGU’s Committee on Decorum and Investigation (CODI), respondent was found guilty of all three charges by Municipal Mayor Marvic S. Padilla. For the offenses committed against De la Cruz and Gayaton, respondent was meted the penalties of reprimand for his first offense of light harassment and 30 days’ suspension for his first offense of less grave sexual harassment. His transgression against petitioner, however, was deemed to be grave sexual harassment for which he was dismissed from the government service. 
On appeal, the Civil Service Commission (CSC) passed only on the decision in the case filed by petitioner since, under the CSC rules, the penalty of reprimand and/or suspension of not more than 30 days cannot be appealed. The CSC dismissed the appeal but modified Mayor Padilla’s order by holding respondent guilty of grave misconduct instead of grave sexual harassment. The same penalty of dismissal from the service, however, was meted out to respondent.
Respondent’s next recourse was to the CA which partially granted his appeal. The CA modified the CSC resolution, finding respondent guilty only of simple misconduct. Accordingly, the penalty was lowered to suspension for one month and one day.
Petitioner comes to this Court to appeal the downgrading of respondent’s offense to simple misconduct. 

ISSUE: whether the acts committed by respondent against petitioner (since the CSC resolution only touched upon petitioner’s complaint) constitute simple misconduct or grave misconduct.

HELD:
Respondent was charged with knowledge of the existence of this law and its contents, more so because he was a public servant. His act of grabbing petitioner and attempting to kiss her without her consent was an unmistakable manifestation of his intention to violate laws that specifically prohibited sexual harassment in the work environment. Assuming arguendo that respondent never intended to violate RA 7877, his attempt to kiss petitioner was a flagrant disregard of a customary rule that had existed since time immemorial – that intimate physical contact between individuals must be consensual. Respondent’s defiance of custom and lack of respect for the opposite sex were more appalling because he was a married man. Respondent’s act showed a low regard for women and disrespect for petitioner’s honor and dignity.
 Section 53 of Rule IV of the Uniform Rules on Administrative Cases provides a list of the circumstances which may be considered in the determination of penalties to be imposed. The CA considered respondent’s more than ten years of government service and claim of being awarded Most Outstanding Municipal Assessor of Region II for three years as mitigating circumstances. Again, we disagree.


Furthermore, we note that this is the third time that respondent is being penalized for acts of sexual harassment. We are also alarmed by the increasing boldness in the way respondent displayed his unwelcome affection for the women of his fancy. He is a perverted predator preying on his female colleagues and subordinates. Respondent’s continued misbehavior cannot, therefore, be allowed to go unchecked.

        WHEREFORE, the petition is hereby GRANTED. Benjamin A. Sanchez, Jr. guilty.

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