NICOPIOR V. VASQUEZ (GOVT EMPLOYEE CONDUCT)

Employees of the judiciary should be living examples of uprightness, not only in the performance of their official duties, but also in their personal and private dealings with other people, so as to preserve all times the good name and standing of the courts in the community. Any scandalous behavior or act that may erode the people's high esteem to the judiciary unbecomes an employee.

The SC has always emphasized that the conduct and behavior of every person connected with the dispensation of justice, from the highest official to the lowliest employee, should be circumscribed with the heavy burden of responsibility.

This is so because the image of a court of justice is necessarily mirrored in the conduct, official or otherwise, of the men and women who work thereat. Thus, court employees have been enjoined to adhere to the exacting standards of morality and decency in order to preserve the judiciary's good name and standing as a true temple of justice.