Duty of court clerks in Judiciary Development Fund collections

Administrative Circular No. 5-93 provides:
  1. Duty of the Clerks of Court, Officers-in-Charge or accountable officers. - The Clerk of Court, Officers-in-Charge of the Office of the Clerk of Court, or their accountable duly authorized representative designated by them in writing, who must be accountable officers, shall receive the Judiciary Development Fund collections, issue the proper receipt therefor, maintain a separate cash book properly marked CASH BOOK FOR JUDICIARY DEVELOPMENT FUND, deposit such collections in the manner herein prescribed and render the proper Monthly Report of Collections for said Fund.
In the Office of the Court Administrator v. Acampado,[1] the Supreme Court declared that any shortages in the amounts to be remitted and the delay in the actual remittance thereof constitute gross neglect of duty for which the clerk of court shall be held administratively liable. Moreover, in the Office of the Court Administrator v. Melchor, Jr.,[2] it was held that delayed remittance of cash collections constitutes gross neglect of duty because this omission deprives the court of interest that could have been earned if the amounts were deposited in the authorized depository bank. This was also reiterated in the fairly recent case of Office of the Court Administrator v. Mrs. Aurora T. Zuniga.[3]

In Office of the Court Administrator v. Acampanado,[4] "Clerks of Court are the custodians of the courts 'funds and revenues, records, properties, and premises.' They are 'liable for any loss, shortage, destruction or impairment' of those entrusted to them. Any shortages in the amounts to be remitted and the delay in the actual remittance 'constitute gross neglect of duty for which the clerk of court shall be held administratively liable.'"


[1] A.M. Nos. P-13-3116 & P-13-3112, November 12, 2013, 709 SCRA 254.

[2] A.M. No. P-06-2227, August 19, 2014, 733 SCRA 246.

[3] A.M. P-10-2800, November 18, 2014.

[4] Supra note 1 at 270-271.