Dear PAO,

My cousin used to be a member of the Philippine police, but he was dismissed from service a few years ago because he had been absent for 90 days. He did not deny having absented himself for that long. He said he was going through some personal problems at the time and was unable to secure appropriate leave of absence because he thought that it might not get approved anyway. I just want to know if dismissal is really the 'penalty' for such infraction. I just feel sorry for my cousin, as he hasn't found stable work since he got dismissed.

Sassy