THE Supreme Court (SC) has ordered the dismissal from service of a Cavite trial court judge after being found administratively liable for dismissing the case against 10 members of the Lex Leonum fraternity involved in the fatal hazing of San Beda law student Marc Andrei Marcos in 2012.
Ordered dismissed from the service, as well as the forfeiture of retirement benefits, was Judge Perla V. Cabrera-Faller, presiding judge of Regional Trial Court Branch 90, Dasmariñas City, Cavite.
The Court affirmed findings of the Office of the Court of Administration (OCA), which said Cabrera-Faller was guilty of gross ignorance of the law and for violating Rule 1.01 and Rule 3.01, Canon 3 of the Code of Judicial Conduct, but modified its recommended penalty.
Instead of imposing a six-month suspension from the service without salary as recommended by the OCA, the Court held the respondent judge should be dismissed from the service.
Cabrera-Faller’s dismissal stemmed from her orders issued in 2013, recalling the arrest warrants against the accused, saying these were inadvertently issued despite an earlier finding of probable cause for the issuance of such; for sending the record of the case to the archives even prior to the return that accused could not be apprehended in violation of the six-month period under Administrative Circular (AC) 7-A-92; and for hastily dismissing the criminal case without hearing the side of the prosecution.
“Without a quibble, Judge Cabrera-Faller demonstrated lack of knowledge and understanding of the basic rules of procedure when she issued the questioned orders,” the Court ruled.
The Office of the Prosecutor (OCP) issued a resolution on May 8, 2013, recommending the prosecution of several Lex Leonum fraternity members for violation of Republic Act (RA) 8049, otherwise known as the anti-hazing law.
In the same resolution, the OCP also recommended Cornelio Marcelo, the person assigned to be the buddy or “angel” of Marc Andrei during the initiation rites, be discharged as a state witness.
Subsequently, the information for violation of RA 8049 was filed against Jenno Antonio Villanueva, Emmanuel Jefferson Santiago, Richard Rosales, Mohamad Fyzee Alim, Chino Daniel Amante, Julius Arsenio Alcancia, Edrich Gomez, Dexter Circa, Gian Angelo Veluz, and Glenn Meduen alias Tanton, alias Fidel, alias ER and alias Paulo, before the RTC.
Finding probable cause to sustain the prtosecution of the accused, Cabrera-Faller issued an order dated June 3, 2013, directing the issuance of a warrant of arrest and, at the same time, the archiving of the entire record of the case until the arrest of the accused.