* The Supreme Court dismissed Cebu court employee Karen Gomez for an unaccounted P1.69 million shortage and fined Clerk of Court Rhoel Ariel Villagonzalo P400,000 for delayed deposits and record tampering.
* Gomez was ordered to return P1,694,587 plus interest, faced civil service disqualifications, and was referred for criminal charges following a financial audit of the 13th MCTC in Dumanjug-Ronda.
* Villagonzalo tampered with 21 official receipts and monthly reports between 2015 and 2017 to conceal delayed remittances, undermining public confidence in the administration of justice.
MAGISTRATES of the Supreme Court (SC) dismissed a court employee in Cebu for failing to account for P1.69 million in court funds and fined another clerk for delaying deposits and tampering with official records to conceal the delays.
Sitting en banc, the High Court found Karen Gomez, clerk 2 of the 13th Municipal Circuit Trial Court (MCTC) in Dumanjug-Ronda, Cebu, guilty of serious dishonesty, gross misconduct and gross neglect of duty.
The SC said Gomez’s failure to account for P1,694,587, together with the loss of an official receipt booklet entrusted to her, constitutes a grave breach of the trust reposed in her as a disbursement officer of the Judiciary.
Strict accountability
“The Court cannot countenance such conduct,” read a portion of the decision promulgated June 10, 2026, but made public on Sept. 28. “Respondent Gomez’s actions betray the fundamental principle that public office is a public trust.”
Gomez was dismissed from the service effective immediately, with forfeiture of all benefits. She was permanently barred from reemployment in any government agency or instrumentality, including government-owned or -controlled corporations, and her civil service eligibility was canceled.
She was also ordered to return P1,694,587 and pay P28,118.51 in unearned interest, while the Financial Management Office of the Office of the Court Administrator was directed to compute the value of her accrued leave credits and apply it to her accountabilities. Furthermore, the SC directed the Office of the Court Administrator to file appropriate criminal charges against Gomez and issued a hold departure order against her.
In resolving the case, the SC applied the 2025 Code of Conduct and Accountability for Court Officials and Personnel, which took effect Dec. 21, 2025. The code provides that it applies to pending and future cases unless the SC determines that retroactive application would be infeasible or would work injustice.
Clerk of Court 2 Rhoel Ariel Villagonzalo was found guilty of serious dishonesty and gross neglect of duty. He was ordered to pay P200,000 for each offense, totaling P400,000, within three months of receiving the decision, and must also pay P8,190.94 in unearned interest.
The penalty was higher than the P300,000 fine recommended by the SC’s Judicial Integrity Office because the High Court noted that the two offenses were separate. Gross neglect of duty involves the absence of the diligence and care required of a public officer, while tampering with financial reports is a deliberate and intentional act.
Audit findings
The administrative cases stemmed from a financial audit of the court’s books conducted from Dec. 4 to 16, 2022, after 13th MCTC Presiding Judge Jose Lindo Belarmino requested a review following discrepancies in the fiduciary fund account. Fiduciary funds are financial resources that an entity or government holds and manages as a trustee or agent for the benefit of external parties, such as individuals, private organizations or other governments.
The audit covered the Judiciary Development Fund, Special Allowance for the Judiciary Fund, General Fund-New, Mediation Fund, Fiduciary Fund, Sheriff’s Trust Fund and Legal Research Fund. Auditors found an P80,000 shortage under Villagonzalo, all in the fiduciary fund, while Gomez had a total shortage of P1,694,587 across several Judiciary funds, including P1,298,000 in the fiduciary fund.
Gomez was designated officer-in-charge of the court on Feb. 15, 2018, after Villagonzalo suffered a stroke, and she remained in the position until Jan. 20, 2022, when Belarmino revoked her designation after Villagonzalo’s physical condition improved.
Concealment and liability
Villagonzalo did not dispute the P80,000 shortage and later paid it on Oct. 19, 2023, attributing the delayed deposits to the court’s 33-kilometer distance from its depository bank and to his additional duties as court interpreter and process server.
The SC rejected his explanation and said his restitution did not clear him of administrative liability, adding that the delayed remittances deprived the court of interest it could have earned had the money been deposited on time.
It also found that Villagonzalo tampered with 21 official receipts involving P120,400 and 21 entries in his monthly reports from 2015 to 2017. The dates were falsified or omitted to delay the remittance of collections and create the appearance of regular remittance and proper reporting, resulting in some collections being remitted months or even a year after they were received.
The High Court said the tampering was deliberate and not the result of inadvertence, showing a calculated intent to mislead and obstruct accountability. Villagonzalo’s dishonesty undermined public confidence in the courts and the administration of justice, as the concealment was a conscious effort to cover up his dereliction of duty.
Meanwhile, Gomez did not respond to the charges despite repeated notices and directives. The High Court said her silence strengthened the inference of culpability, stating that silence in the face of serious allegations is not mere neglect but a tacit admission.
The SC ordered the presiding judge of the 13th MCTC to monitor all financial transactions of the court, emphasizing that those responsible for supervision shall be equally liable for the infractions committed by the employees under their command. / KAL