IN THE MATTER TO DECLARE IN CONTEMPT OF COURT HON. SIMEON A.

DATUMANONG

1. Tel- Equen, District Engineer of Mountain Province, DPWH was charged with an administrative
complaint by the Office of the Ombudsman for dishonesty, falsification of official documents, grave
misconduct, gross neglect of duty, violation of office rules and regulations, and conduct prejudicial to the
service
2. the Administrative Adjudication Bureau of the Office of the Ombudsman found him guilty. After his MR
was denied, Tel-Equen appealed to the CA. It was also denied hence they appealed to the SC.
3. While the appeal was pending with the SC, DPWH Sec Datumanong issued a memorandum order
dismissing Tel Equen from the service.
4. Tel-Equen, filed this present case to cite the former DPWH Secretary Datumanong in contempt for issuing
the said memorandum order.
Issue: W/N Datumanong should be cited in contempt. Held: No
Ratio:
1. The contempt power must be exercised with utmost self-restraint. The issuance of the Memorandum
Order by Datumanong was not a contumacious conduct tending, directly or indirectly, to impede, obstruct
or degrade the administration of justice.
2. At most, it could have been only an error in judgment or a result of confusion with regard to the
following rules:
Admin Code of 1987: decisions of the CSC commission are immediately executory even
pending appeal, versus:
the rules of procedure under the Ombudsman Act (which is the one which should be applied to
Tel-Equen in this case) which state that decisions of the Office of the OMB is not executory at
once.

3. However, this issue can be considered cured as a supervening event occurred; the said rule of procedure
under the Ombudsman has been amended to the effect that decisions of the office of the Ombudsman are
executory even if pending appeal.
4. Where the legislature has seen fit to declare that the decision of the quasi-judicial agency is immediately
final and executory pending appeal, the law expressly so provides.