SC upholds dismissal of Ombudsman official for 'fixing' cases

The Supreme Court has affirmed the dismissal of an official of the Office of the Ombudsman for fixing cases in exchange for money.

In a 26-page decision promulgated in April, the SC Third Division upheld the ruling of the Court of Appeals (CA) and the Ombudsman finding Rolando Zoleta administratively liable for grave misconduct, serious dishonesty, and conduct prejudicial to the best interest of the service.

Zoleta was previously the assistant Ombudsman for Luzon before he was assigned to the Appeals Bureau of the Office of the Special Prosecutor.

“Public office is a public trust and public officers and employees must at all times be accountable to the people, serve them with utmost responsibility, integrity, loyalty, and efficiency, act with patriotism and justice, and lead modest lives,” the SC said.

In 2017, the Internal Affairs Board-Investigating Staff (IAB-IS) filed a complaint against Zoleta for allegedly facilitating the dismissal of cases against high-ranking officials before the Ombudsman-Luzon and the Ombudsman for the Military and other Law Enforcement Offices.

The Ombudsman found him administratively liable while the appellate court later affirmed the Ombudsman’s ruling.

This prompted Zoleta to file the present petition before the SC.

However, the SC found that the allegations against Zoleta were proven and the CA correctly affirmed the ruling against him.

According to the court, verified text messages between Zoleta and an official of the IB-FIO who was arrested showed that Zoleta demanded and received bribe money in exchange for fixing cases.

“There is no doubt about Zoleta’s culpability, being a party to the commission of corrupt acts,” the SC said.

“As duly held by the CA and the OMB, demanding and actually receiving money from the parties involved in cases exhibited Zoleta’s moral depravity and constituted dishonest acts so serious of such degree that it damaged not only the name of the OMB but the public service as well,” it added.—LDF, GMA Integrated News