The Office of the Court Administrator has enjoined judges of regional trial courts that they have no authority to stop the implementation of decisions of the Office of the Ombudsman on disciplinary cases.
“All judges are hereby reminded and advised that pursuant to the doctrine of judicial stability or non-interference, the RTC has no jurisdiction to interfere with or restrain the execution of decisions of the Ombudsman in disciplinary cases,” Court Administrator Jose Midas Marquez said in a circular.
Marquez issued the circular following “persistent reports” that various RTCs have issued temporary restraining orders and writs of preliminary injunctions against the implementation of the Ombudsman decisions on disciplinary cases.
Interior Secretary Eduardo Año also raised the matter in a letter to the Office of the Court Administrator on November 21, according to the issuance.
Citing Supreme Court rulings in 2015 and 2017, Marquez stressed that Ombudsman decisions on disciplinary cases are appealable to the Court of Appeals via a petition for review.
“Where the decisions of certain administrative bodies are appealable to the Court of Appeals, these adjudicative bodies are co-equal with the Regional Trial Courts in terms of rank and stature; their actions are logically beyond the control of the RTC, a co-equal body,” the OCA circular said, quoting pertinent ruling of the high court.
