The Court of Appeals (CA) affirmed the twin decisions of the Office of the Ombudsman which found two employees of the National Transmission Corporation (TRANCO) guilty of simple misconduct and imposed one- month suspension for reportedly not acting on the leave of absence application of an employee that caused cancellation of her payroll.

The CA said the Ombudsman did not commit any error in finding petitioners Hernando B. Santos, cluster head of the South Luzon Transmission Project (SLTP), and Walberto C. Ocampo, officer-in-charge of SLTP, guilty of simple misconduct and imposing the penalty of suspension of one month and one-day since the penalty provided under 52, B2, rule IV of the Revised Uniform Rules on Administrative Cases in the Civil Service for simple misconduct for first offense is suspension from one month and one day to six months.

The CA Seventh Division denied the petition filed by Santos and Ocampo, and instead affirmed the assailed decision and order of the Ombudsman dated February 29, 2008, and July 21, 2008, respectively.

In an 11-page decision penned by Associate Justice Florito S. Macalino, the evidence presented by respondent Kristina Lapuz, corporate staff analyst B of the STLP of the TRANSCO, is substantial to support the finding  that the petitioner is guilty of simple misconduct since the findings of the Ombudsman state that the sick leave applications of respondent for October and November in 2006 were endorsed to the Human Relation Division only in January, 2007, per memorandum of the HRD head dated February, 2008.

“Moreover, it is undisputed that the terminal leave application of said respondent was still not acted upon even long after her separation from work, thus it is clear that herein petitioners (Santos and Ocampo) did not act upon the said terminal leave application and sick leave applications of respondent Lapuz within the reasonable period” said Macalino.