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Manila Bulletin devider Philippines devider National devider SC dismisses court sheriff for asking, accepting money in illegal drugs case

SC dismisses court sheriff for asking, accepting money in illegal drugs case

Published Jul 16, 2025 02:24 pm
A trial court sheriff has been dismissed by the Supreme Court (SC) for accepting money to facilitate the resolution of an illegal drugs case.
Dismissed with forfeiture of his retirement benefits and perpetual ban from holding public office was Dwight Aldwin S. Geronimo, sheriff of Branch 121 of the Regional Trial Court (RTC) in Imus City, Cavite.
The SC’s Office of the Spokesperson said that the case against Geronimo stemmed from the complaint filed by Antolyn Dones Gonzales who said that the sheriff asked P200,000 to help speed up the case against her friend Monib Saadoning Amatonding.
Gonzales said she initially gave P115,000 to Geronimo with the balance to be paid once Amatonding’s case is finally settled by the court.
She also said they communicated via Facebook Messenger and the sheriff even visited her in her house and repeatedly promised results on the case.
When Amatonding’s plea for bail was denied, Gonzales said Geronimo disappeared, blocked her on Facebook, and changed his phone number.
The Judicial Integrity Board (JIB) conducted an investigation.
In his defense, Geronimo claimed that the money given by Gonzales was a personal loan. Later, he said that he entertained Gonzales to expose reported corruption in the court.
The JIB found Geronimo guilty of gross misconduct and recommended his dismissal.
The SC upheld the JIB’s finding and recommendation. It said that under Section 1, Canon I of the Code of Conduct for Court Personnel, court employees should not use their position for personal gain, while Section 2 of the code forbids them from accepting gifts that could influence their official actions.
In its ruling that has not been made public, the SC stressed that court employees should never take money from litigants for any reason because such actions are considered gross misconduct – an unlawful behavior or gross negligence by a public officer coupled with elements of corruption, or willful intent to violate the law or disregard established rules.
It also said that corruption, as an element of gross misconduct, involves an official unlawfully or wrongly using his or her position to obtain personal benefits.
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