IN what appears to be another landmark ruling nailing the culture of corruption involving lawyers, the Supreme Court stood firm on the dismissal of an official of the Office of the Ombudsman previously dragged into fixing cases of government officials facing graft charges.
In its decision, the SC 3rd Division affirmed the decision of the Court of Appeals which found former Assistant Ombudsman for Luzon Rolando Zoleta administratively liable for Grave Misconduct, Serious Dishonesty, and Conduct Prejudicial to the Best Interest of the Service.
Court records showed that in 2017, the Internal Affairs Board-Investigating Staff (IAB-IS) filed a complaint against Zoleta for offering to help facilitate the dismissal of cases against high-ranking officials pending before the Ombudsman-Luzon and the Ombudsman for the Military and Other Law Enforcement Offices.
Even before Zoleta was dragged into the mess, the SC claimed that he was working with another Ombudsman official who was arrested in an entrapment operation over a P3 million extortion attempt in Pangasinan.
In its ruling, the SC cited sufficient evidence to believe that Zoleta is into corrupt acts. Among the proofs that the SC cited were records found in his personal mobile phone.
“After a careful review of the records of the case, this Court resolves to deny the Petition for Review on Certiorari,” reads part of the SC ruling penned by Associate Justice Samuel Gaerlan. (ANGEL F. JOSE)
