up board of regents v. ligot-telan

8/10/2019 UP Board of Regents v. Ligot-Telan

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Republic of the Philippines

SUPREME COURT

Manila

EN BANC

G.R. No. 110280 October 12, 1993

UNIVERSITY OF THE PHIIPPINES !O"R# OF REGENTS $%& #R. OIVI" C. C"OII '% (er

c$)$c't* $+ Secret$r* o t(e !o$r&,petitioners,

vs.

HON. ESIE IGOT-TE"N '% (er c$)$c't* $+ Pre+'&'% /&e o !r$%c( 8, Re'o%$ Tr'$ Cort o

e4o% C't* $%& R"MON P. N"#", respondents.

U.P. Office of Legal Services for petitioners.

Bonifacio A. Alentajon for private respondent.

ROMERO, J.:

In an effort to make the niversit! of the Philippines ".P.# trul! the universit! of the people, the .P.

administration conceptuali$ed and implemented the sociali$ed scheme of tuition fee pa!ments throu%h the&ociali$ed 'uition (ee and Assistance Pro%ram "&'(AP#, popularl! kno)n as the *Iskolar n% Ba!an* pro%ram.

&pa)ned b! the public clamor to overcome )hat )as perceived as the sharpenin% elitist profile of the .P

studentr!, the &'(AP aspired to e+pand the covera%e of %overnment educational subsidies so as to include thedeservin% in the lo)er run%s of the socioeconomic ladder.

After broad consultations )ith the various universit! constituencies b! .P. President -ose . Abueva, the .P.

Board of Re%ents issued on April /0, 1200 a Resolution establishin% the &'(AP. A !ear later, it )as %rantedofficial reco%nition )hen the Con%ress of the Philippines allocated a portion of the National Bud%et for theimplementation of the pro%ram.

In the interest of democrati$in% admission to the &tate niversit!, all students are entitled to appl! for &'(AP

benefits )hich include reduction in fees, livin% and book subsidies and student assistantships )hich %ive

under%raduate students the opportunit! to earn P1/.33 per hour b! )orkin% for the niversit!.

Applicants are re4uired to accomplish a 4uestionnaire )here, amon% others, the! state the amount and source ofthe annual income of the famil!, their real and personal properties and special circumstances from )hich the

niversit! ma! evaluate their financial status and need on the basis of )hich the! are cate%ori$ed into brackets.

At the end the application form, the student applicant, as )ell as his parent, si%ns a s)orn statement, as follo)s5

Statement of the Student

I hereb! certif!, upon m! honor, that all the data and information )hich I have furnished are accurate and

complete.I understand that any willful misinformation andor withholding of information will automatically

dis!ualify me from receiving any financial assistance or su"sidy# and may serve as ground for my e$pulsion

from the University.%urthermore# is such misinformation andor withholding of information on my part isdiscovered after I have "een awarded tuition scholarship or any form of financial assistance# I will "e re!uired

to reim"urse all financial "enefits plus the legal rate of interest prevailing at the time of the reim"ursement

without prejudice to the filing of charges against me. "Emphasis supplied for emphasis#

Moreover, I understand that the niversit! ma! send a factfindin% team to visit m! home6residence to verif!

the veracit! of the information provided in this application and I )ill %ive m! utmost cooperation in this re%ard.

I also understand that m! refusal to cooperate )ith the factfindin% team ma! mean suspension of )ithdra)al of

&'(AP benefits and privile%es.

7777777

&tudent8s &i%nature

Statement of the Applicant&s Parent or 'uardian


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I here"y certify to the truthfulness and completeness of the information which my sondaughterdependent has

furnished in this application together with all the documents attached. I further reco%ni$e that in si%nin% thisapplication form, I share )ith m! son6dau%hter6dependent the responsibilit! for the truthfulness and

completeness of the information supplied herein. "Emphasis supplied for emphasis#

Moreover, I understand that the niversit! ma! send a factfindin% team to visit m! home6residence to verif!

the information provided in this application and I )ill %ive m! utmost cooperation in this re%ard. I alsounderstand that m! refusal to cooperate )ith the factfindin% team ma! mean suspension or )ithdra)al of

&'(AP benefits and privile%es of m! son6dau%hter6dependent.

77777777777777777Parent8s69e%al :uardian8s6&pouse8s &i%nature1

(rom the earl! sta%es of its implementation, measures )ere adopted to safe%uard the inte%rit! of the pro%ram.

;ne such precautionar! measure )as the inclusion as one of the punishable acts under &ection / "a# of the Rules

and Re%ulations on &tudent Conduct and , 1221, a team composed of Arsenio 9. for &= 12021223F Bracket Gfor &= 12231221# in his applications for &'(AP "I&;9AR N: BA=AN# benefits )hich he filed for

school!ear 12021223, and school!ear 12231221, )ith the ;ffice of &cholarship and &tudent &ervices

"formerl! &cholarship and (inancial Assistance &ervice# voluntaril! and )illfull! )ithheld and did not declarethe follo)in%5

"a# 'hat he has and maintains a car "'o!ota Corolla, Model 12#F and

"b# 'he income of his mother "Natividad Packin% Nadal# in the .&.A., in support of the studies of his brothers

Antonio and (ederico,

)hich acts of )illfull! )ithholdin% information is tantamount to acts of dishonest! in relation to his studies, in

violation of para%raph "a#, &ection /, of the Rules and Re%ulations on &tudent Conduct and


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amended. "Approved b! the B.;.R. at its 0Dth meetin% on 3/ &eptember 12D, amended at the 2/?rd B.;.R.

meetin% on ?1 -anuar! 1203, and further amended at its 131th B.;.R. meetin% on 30


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'he Chairman of the Board, to%ether )ith the President, directed the &ecretar! to reflect in the minutes of the

meetin% the follo)in% decisions of the Board in e+ecutive session, )ith onl! the Board members present.

A vote )as held b! secret ballot on )hether Ramon P. Nadal )as %uilt! or not %uilt! as char%ed of )illful

)ithholdin% of information in relation to his application for &ociali$ed 'uition and (inancial Assistance

Pro%ram "&'(AP# benefits )hich he filed for &chool!ears 12021223 and 12231221 )hich is tantamount to act

of dishonest! in relation to his studies, in violation of para%raph "a#, &ection / of the Rules and Re%ulations on&tudent Conduct and


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;n the same da!, the lo)er court 19issued the follo)in% ;rder5

'he parties )ere heard on their respective positions on the incident "application for preliminar! inunction andpra!er for temporar! restrainin% order and opposition thereto#. (or lack of material time set this for continuation

on Ma! 1 and 10, 122? both at /5?3 p.m.

In the meantime, in order that the proceedin%s of this case ma! not be rendered moot and academic, the

respondents herein, namel!5 -ose . Abueva, President of the niversit! of the Philippines and iceChairman

of the .P. Board of Re%ents, ;scar M. Alfonso, Cesar A. Buenaventura and Armand . (abella, members ofthe .P. Board of Re%ents, ;livia C. Caoili, the officers, a%ents, representatives, and all persons actin% in their

behalf, are hereb! temporaril! restrained from implementin% their decision rendered on March /2, 122? inAdministrative &


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Before proceedin% )ith the discussion of the merits of the instant petition, )e shall confront a threshold issue

raised b! private respondent, namel!, that


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Re%ent Antonio '. Carpio, in his testimon! before the lo)er court on Ma! /G, 122? admitted that there )as no

final verdict at the March /0, 122? meetin% in vie) of the conditional votes resultin% from his assertion that he)as *not morall! convinced that there )as sufficient evidence to make a findin% of %uilt! a%ainst Nadal because

there )as no direct evidence that his mother received income from the nited &tates and this income )as sent

to the Philippines to support the studies of the children.* 30')o re%ents shared the vie) of Re%ent Carpio, )iththe follo)in% result5 four voted %uilt!, three, not %uilt!, and three cast conditional votes. 'he B;R a%reed that,

upon the su%%estion of Re%ent Carpio, the! )ould still verif! from the AdeM about Nadal8s alle%ed

scholarship as a student in said institution. Conse4uentl!, no definitive decision )as arrived at b! the B;R on

March /0, 122?, Much less )as a verdict of e+oneration handed do)n as averred b! respondent.

Re%ent Carpio testified, )ith respect to the March /2, 122? meetin% )here all t)elve members of the B;R

)ere present, that all of them participated in the votin% held to reconsider the previous da!8s decision. e stated

*I remember Re%ent Arcellana 4uestionin% the votin% a%ain on the %round that there )as alread! a finaldecision, but there )as a vote taken on )hether a motion for reconsideration can be decided b! the board, and a

maorit! of the board ruled that the matter can be reconsidered a%ain upon motion of the chairman.* 31

At said meetin%, si+ "D# re%ents voted to find respondent %uilt!, three "?# voted that he )as not %uilt! and three

"?# abstained. As succinctl! announced b! Re%ent Carpio, the final decision )as that )hich )as rendered onMarch /2, 122? as *no other decision )as made b! the Board )ith respect to the same issue.* 32

Counsel for Nadal char%ed before the lo)er court that his client )as *not %iven due process in the March /2

meetin% because the %round upon )hich he )as a%ain convicted )as not the same as the ori%inal

char%e.*33;bviousl!, he )as referrin% to the basis of the conditional votes on March /0, i.e., )hether or notNadal )as tellin% the truth )hen he claimed that he received a scholarship %rant from the AdeM. o)ever,

Re%ent Carpio himself testified that the char%e considered )as *e+actl! the same char%e* of )ithholdin%

information on the income of Nadal8s mother. 35 It should be stressed that the reason )h! Re%ent Carpiore4uested a verification of Nadal8s claim that he )as a scholar at the AdeM )as that Re%ent Carpio )as not

*morall! convinced* !et as to the %uilt of Nadal. In other )ords, he sou%ht additional insi%hts into the character

of Nadal throu%h the information that )ould be obtained from the AdeM.

In this re%ard, )e find such information to be irrelevant and a mere superfluit!. In his -ul!, 1/, 1221certification aforementioned, Nadal admitted, althou%h inconsistentl!, that his mother )as a *'N'* )ho could

not find a *stable, re%ular, )ellpa!in% emplo!ment* but that she )as supportin% the education of his brothers

)ith the help of another son. 'o our mind, this constitutes sufficient admission that Nadal )ithheld informationon the income, ho)ever measl! and irre%ular, of his mother. nlike in criminal cases )hich re4uire proof

be!ond reasonable doubt as basis for a ud%ment, in administrative or!uasi-judicialproceedin%s,

onl!su"stantial evidenceis re4uired, that )hich means more than a mere scintilla or relevant evidence as a

reasonable mind mi%ht accept as ade4uate to support a conclusion, even if other minds e4uall! reasonable mi%htconceivabl! opine other)ise. 36In li%ht of the fore%oin% circumstances, )e find that Nadal has been sufficientl!

proven to have violated his undertakin% to divul%e all information needed )hen he applied for the benefits of

the &'(AP.

9et it not be for%otten that respondent aspires to oin the ranks of the professionals )ho )ould uphold truth at

all costs so that ustice ma! prevail. 'he sentinels )ho stand %uard at the portals leadin% to the hallo)ed

'emples of -ustice cannot be over$ealous in admittin% onl! those )ho are intellectuall! and morall! fit. In those

)ho e+hibit duplicit! in their student da!s, one spots the shad! character )ho is bound to so) the seeds ofchicaner! in the practice of his profession.

avin% reached his senior !ear, respondent is presumabl! a)are that the bedrock a+iom, Canon I, Rule 1.31 of

the Code of Professional Responsibilit! states5 *A la)!er shall not en%a%e in unla)ful, dishonest, immoral or

deceitful conduct.* (urther on, Canon , Rule .31 provides5 *A la)!er shall be ans)erable for kno)in%l!makin% a false statement orsuppressing a material factin connection )ith his application for admission to the

bar.* "Emphasis supplied for emphasis#

&urel!, it is not too earl! to )arn entrants to the noble profession of la) that honest! and inte%rit! arere4uirements no less )ei%ht! than hurdlin% the Bar e+aminations. 'his is the reason )h! a certification of %ood

moral character is one of the documents that must be submitted in appl!in% to take said e+amination. In fact, a

char%e of immoral or deceitful conduct on the part of an applicant, )hen proved, is a %round for dis4ualif!in%

him.

'o revert to the instant case, inasmuch as it has been sho)n sufficientl! that respondent has committed an act of

dishonest! in )ithholdin% vital information in connection )ith his application for &'(AP benefits, all in blatant


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violation of the Rules and Re%ulations on &tudent Conduct and


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undermine the authorit! of the .P. to discipline its students )ho violated the rules and re%ulations of the

institution but, more importantl!, subvert the ver! concept and loft! intent to %ive financial assistance to poorbut deservin% students throu%h the &'(AP )hich, incidentall!, has not ceased refinin% and modif!in% it8s

operations.

JERE(;RE, the instant petition is :RAN'E< and the lo)er court is hereb! ordered to

up board of regents v. ligot-telan

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