De Castro v. Field Investigation Office

Summary

This case involves the administrative prosecution of Bureau of Customs Chief Operations Officer Leovigildo De Castro for dishonesty and grave misconduct. The Field Investigation Office found that De Castro acquired assets worth over P23 million through his children while his declared government income was only P10.8 million. The Supreme Court partially granted his petition, dismissing the grave misconduct charge for lack of nexus to official duties but affirming the dishonesty conviction. The Court found substantial evidence that De Castro deliberately concealed assets by registering them in his children's names when they lacked financial capacity to acquire them legitimately. The case reinforces constitutional principles of public accountability and the requirement for government officials to maintain transparency in their financial affairs, upholding the dismissal penalty for dishonesty.