Source: http://lawlibrary.chanrobles.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=83338:57386&catid=1586&Itemid=566
Timestamp: 2019-04-26 12:05:03+00:00

Document:
A.M. No. RTJ-14-2390 (Formerly OCA I.P.I. No. 12-3923-RTJ), August 13, 2014 - JOSEPHINE JAZMINES TAN, Petitioner, v. JUDGE SIBANAH E. USMAN, REGIONAL TRIAL COURT, BRANCH 28, CATBALOGAN CITY, SAMAR, Respondent.
JOSEPHINE JAZMINES TAN, Petitioner, v. JUDGE SIBANAH E. USMAN, REGIONAL TRIAL COURT, BRANCH 28, CATBALOGAN CITY, SAMAR, Respondent.
Before this Court is an administrative complaint1 filed by Josephine Jazmines Tan (complainant) against Judge Sibanah E. Usman (respondent), Presiding Judge of the Regional Trial Court of Catbalogan City, Branch 28, Samar for bribery and corruption, relative to Civil Case No. 7681 and Criminal Case No. 6536.
Complainant is one of the plaintiffs and accused in Civil Case No. 7681 and Criminal Case No. 6536, respectively, then pending before Branch 28, presided by respondent. She claimed that relative to said cases, respondent was paid P250,000.00 by their opponent, a certain Allan Tan, through Jaime Cui, Jr., as evidenced by a receipt stating: “Received P250,000.00 (Two Hundred Fifty Thousand Pesos) from Mr. Jaime Cui, Jr. as full payment in CC No. 6536 & 7681 to be given to Judge S.E. Usman” and signed by Nilda C. Cinco, OIC-Branch Clerk of Court of the same court.
Complainant further accused respondent of knowingly issuing an unjust interlocutory order when he cited her in contempt. She, however, pointed out that in A.M. No. RTJ-11-2266,2 the Court found respondent guilty of gross ignorance of the law. Complainant now prays that respondent be meted the penalty of dismissal from service for bribery and corruption.
In his Comment4 dated October 9, 2012, respondent argued that since complainant's allegations and issues had already been raised and threshed out in A.M. No. RTJ-11-2266, following the principle of res judicata, the instant complaint should not be given due course.
Respondent countered that the allegations of bribery and corruption are baseless and unfounded. He denied that he received any money from Jaime Cui, Jr. or from anyone relative to said subject cases. He claimed that complainant merely concocted and falsified the acknowledgment receipt wherein she made it appear that Nilda C. Cinco received the money and issued the receipt in behalf of respondent.
Meanwhile, Nilda C. Cinco, in her Affidavit5 dated October 8, 2012, denied that she received any amount of money from Jaime Cui, Jr., nor did she issue any acknowledgment receipt thereto.
Jaime Cui, Jr., likewise, in his Affidavit6 dated October 8, 2012, vehemently denied even in open court on August 28, 2009 that he disbursed a substantial amount of money to respondent or to Nilda Cinco, in any occasion or for any purpose.
Finally, respondent pointed out that when complainant alleged that she received information about the alleged bribery sometime in February or March 2009, said subject case, particularly Civil Case No. 7681 was still being tried before Branch 29 and was only transferred and received by RTC Branch 28 on June 25, 2009. Moreover, respondent judge argued that Allan Tan was killed on October 28, 2008, hence, it is impossible that he gave orders to Jaime Cui, Jr. on the alleged dates where bribery took place.
In a Memorandum dated August 12, 2013, the OCA, due to the conflicting versions of the parties, recommended that the instant administrative complaint be referred to the Presiding Justice of the Court of Appeals in Cebu City, for raffle among the justices in Cebu City on who shall conduct the investigation. The complaint was later on raffled to Court of Appeals Justice Marilyn B. Lagura-Yap.
After investigation and evaluation, in her Report,7 the Investigating Justice recommended that the instant complaint be dismissed for lack of evidence. The Investigating Justice opined that the complaint-affidavit and the “receipt” given by complainant do not constitute as substantial evidence to prove that respondent judge committed bribery or corruption.
The Court adopts the findings of the Investigating Justice.
As settled, an accusation of bribery is easy to concoct but difficult to prove. The complainant must present a panoply of evidence in support of such an accusation. Bare allegation would not suffice to hold respondent liable.9 In the absence of showing direct and convincing evidence to prove the alleged bribery, respondent judge cannot be held guilty of said charge. In the instant case, no evidence was presented showing that respondent in fact accepted or received money or anything from Cui in relation to the subject cases. Neither was there any evidence to show that respondent judge unlawfully or wrongfully used his official function for his own benefit or personal gain.
By merely presenting a “receipt” with a tenor that money in the amount of P250,000.00 was received by Nilda Cinco in behalf of respondent to support an accusation of bribery will not stand alone. As correctly observed by the OCA, while it may be considered as proof that indeed there was money received, it does not prove however that respondent received the same. Notably, while complainant presented the subject receipt, there was no allegation as to how she acquired the receipt and from whom she obtained said receipt. It did not help also that the due execution and authenticity of said receipt was not sufficiently established considering that the parties thereto, Mr. Cui and Ms. Cinco, swore in their affidavits and during the hearing that no money was received and that no receipt was issued thereto. Likewise, complainant, despite notice, failed to attend the hearing of the case, hence, she failed to substantiate and corroborate her claim of bribery and corruption against respondent.
WHEREFORE, the instant administrative complaint against respondent Judge Sibanah E. Usman, Regional Trial Court, Branch 28, Catbalogan City, Samar, is hereby DISMISSED for failure of complainant to substantiate the charges.
Velasco, Jr., (Chairperson), Villarama, Jr.,* Mendoza, and Leonen, JJ., concur.
* Designated Acting Member per Special Order No. 1691 dated May 22, 2014, in view of the vacancy in the Third Division.
2Tan v. Judge Usman, A.M. No. RTJ-11-2266, February 15, 2011, 643 SCRA 13.
7 Investigation Report dated May 6, 2014.
8Reyes v. Judge Mangino, 490 Phil. 444, 455-456 (2005).
9 Judge Buenaventura v. Mabalot, A.M. No. P-09-2726 [Formerly OCA IPI No. 08-2923-P], August 28, 2013, .
10Reyes v. Judge Mangino, supra note 8, at 456.
11 See Judge De Guzman v. Judge Dy, 453 Phil. 214, 219 (2003).
12 See Tam v. Judge Regencia, 526 Phil. 25, 36 (2006).
13 See Tan Tiac Chiong v. Cosico, 434 Phil. 753, 764 (2002).

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