This case has been cited 1 times or more.
|
2008-03-04 |
REYES, R.T., J. |
||||
| Suspension and loss of benefits. Any incumbent public officer against whom any criminal prosecution under a valid information under this Act or under Title 7, Book II of the Revised Penal Code or for any offense involving fraud upon the government or public funds or property, whether as a simple or as a complex offense and in whatever stage of the execution and mode of participation, is pending in court, shall be suspended from office. x x x (Underscoring supplied) A whole slew of cases reinforce this provision of law. In Luciano v. Provincial Governor,[13] the Court pronounced that suspension of a public officer under Section 13 of R.A. No. 3019 is mandatory. This was reiterated in Luciano v. Mariano,[14] People v. Albano,[15] Gonzaga v. Sandiganbayan[16] and Bunye v. Escareal.[17] In the last mentioned case, the Court said:Adverting to this Court's observation in Ganzon v. CA, 200 SCRA 271, 272, that the sole objective of an administrative suspension is "to prevent the accused from hampering the normal course of the investigation with his influence and authority over possible witnesses or to keep him off the records and other evidence" and "to assist prosecutors in firming up a case, if any, against an erring official," the petitioners insist that as no such reason for their suspension exists, then the order suspending them should be set aside as a grave abuse of the court's discretion. | |||||