CA upholds Ombudsman dismissal of 9 BSU execs over fatal field trip

The Court of Appeals (CA) has affirmed the Office of the Ombudsman's decision dismissing nine officials of the Bulacan State University (BSU) for gross neglect of duty in connection with the deaths of seven students at a field trip almost four years ago.

In a 24-page resolution promulgated on March 21, the CA decided that the petitions for review filed by the university officials "have no merit."

The court disagreed with the petitioners' argument that their liability, based on special parental authority, only applies to civil, and not administrative, cases.

"The Ombudsman's ruling on petitioners' liability for gross neglect of duty is well supported by substantial evidence clearly showing lack of reasonable care under the circumstances," the document said. 

Citing the Ombudsman's ruling, the CA Fourth Division through the decision penned by Associate Justice Jose Reyes Jr. said it found that the petitioners "did not take time to gather sufficient knowledge of the risks involved in the mountain and cave trekking activity" that was a part of the field trip.

Further, the court said the officials failed to coordinate with local authorities for proper assistance and to supervise the entire field trip as there was apparently no school official or teacher assigned as overall coordinator.

Lastly, the CA said the petitioners did not inform the students' parents of the risks involved in the trekking activity before the latter allowed their children to join the trip.

"By routinely approving the field trip without taking precautionary measures for the safety of students, petitioners exhibited such indifference or lack of due regard for the consequences," the resolution said.

"Clearly, petitioners who stand in loco parentis to their students violated their basic duty of protecting them from harm while under their custody and supervision."

Concurring in Reyes' resolution were Associate Justices Franchito Diamante and Maria Elisa Sempio Diy.

Seven freshman BSU students died after being swept by a strong current while crossing the Madlum River in San Miguel, Bulacan while en route to the Madlum Cave for their field trip in August 2014. 

The Ombudsman's ruling ordering the dismissal of the nine university officials for their responsibility over the incident was rendered on April 30, 2015.

Those it deemed guilty were then university president Mariano De Jesus, student affairs dean Nicanor dela Rama; College of Home Economics (CHE) dean Nerisa Viola; CHE assistant dean Angelina Cinco; professors Mary Jane Lopez and Angelyn Dy Tioco; and instructors Leslie Garcia, Rossette Tanwangco and Reynita Del Fonso.

Apart from being dismissed from the service, these officials are perpetually disqualified from holding public office and barred from taking civil service examinations. Their retirement benefits are also forfeited. — RSJ, GMA News