Dear Atty. Angela,

I work as a human resources officer at a university and we just discovered that one of our newly-hired faculty members falsified his personal information sheet submitted to the administration. He claimed that he has a Master's Degree from a prestigious university but after due diligence, we discovered that he submitted a fabricated certificate and did not finish his degree. We are now in the process of dismissing him but the head of the school and other parents are taking this case seriously and intend to file a criminal case. What offense did he commit? Do we have a basis in pursuing the case?

Christine

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Dear Christine,

Based on the facts you provided, it was shown that this teacher misrepresented and falsified his credentials to be employed. The fact that he used a 1) falsified Master's Degree Certificate and 2) falsified his credentials in the Personal Information Form to gain employment and salaries, when in fact he was not, resulting in actual and reputational damage to the school, as well as damage and prejudice to other applicants who are genuinely qualified for the position.

The Supreme Court held that "dishonesty is a serious offense, and 'no employer will take to its bosom a dishonest employee.' Dishonesty implies a '[d]isposition to lie, cheat, deceive, or defraud;
untrustworthiness; lack of integrity; [l]ack of honesty, probity or integrity in principle; lack of fairness and straightforwardness; disposition to defraud, deceive or betray."

The act committed by this teacher constitutes the offense of Falsification of Private Document under Articles 171 and 172 of the Revised Penal Code which punishes the said crime. Here, the elements of the crime consist of making untruthful statements in a narration of facts (Art. 171) and any person who, to the damage of a third party, or with the intent to cause such damage, shall in any private document commit any of the acts of falsification (Art. 172).

Considering that all elements of falsification of private documents are present in this case, the university, through its authorized representative has a cause of action to pursue the case. There was indeed a deliberate act on the teacher's part to deceive the school by submitting a falsified document bearing his supposed credentials. For this, he will not only be dismissed from his position but he could likewise be prosecuted to face a criminal trial.