University of the Philippines v. Civil Service Commission

Summary

University of the Philippines employee Aurora Buizon was charged with dishonesty and grave misconduct for fraudulently granting scholarship benefits to four relatives and falsifying grades for another relative's graduation. The University President dismissed her with forfeiture of benefits, but the Merit Systems Protection Board and Civil Service Commission modified this to resignation without forfeiture of retirement benefits. The Supreme Court reversed, holding that the Civil Service Commission gravely abused its discretion by allowing benefit retention despite serious misconduct. The Court emphasized that the deliberate, sustained nature of the violations over several years, involving breaches of trust that damaged university integrity, warranted the severest penalty including benefit forfeiture per civil service regulations.