Despite his 17 years in service, the Supreme Court has dismissed a security guard of the Court of Appeals for abandoning his post.
Dismissed from the service with forfeiture of his retirement benefits and perpetual disqualification from public office was Enrique E. Manabat Jr.
He was found guilty of gross neglect of duty and conduct prejudicial to the best interest of the service.
A summary of the case given by the SC Public Information Office stated that Manabat had earlier been found guilty of simple neglect of duty for accidentally discharging his service firearm and sanctioned for other numerous infractions.
In the case that led to his dismissal, the SC found that Manabat was guilty of gross neglect of duty – not merely simple neglect of duty, noting that based on the documents, he never actually attended his scheduled physical therapy session on Nov. 15, 2013, and worse, went on absence without leave from Nov. 19 to 22, 2017.
The SC pointed out that Manabat’s “act of leaving his post and neglecting his duty was intentional or willful and not merely out of inadvertence or carelessness” and stressed that his “flimsy excuse(s) cannot exonerate him from any liability because they were unjustified and unreliable.”
It rejected Manabat’s claim that on Nov. 15, 2013 when he was about to return to the CA from the Philippine General Hospital for his therapy, he received a call from his wife to fetch a relative who was a typhoon victim. (Rey Panaligan)
