Sandigan convicts ex-mayor, treasurer over illegal cash gifts
After over 10 years of extensive legal battle, judgment was finally rendered on a graft case against a former Guimaras mayor, a town treasurer and town budget officer.
“Guilty” as charged thus the conviction for former Buenavista Mayor Arturo Fernandez and Buenavista town Treasurer Renato Garonita. “Not guilty” as charged thus the acquittal for Buenavista Budget Officer Emer Gaylan. (See related story on page 3)
The former mayor and treasurer Garonita have both been sentenced to suffer “indeterminate penalty of six (6) years and one (1) month as minimum to ten (10) years as maximum….” Both have also been perpetually disqualified from public office and “to jointly and severally pay the municipality of Buenavista, Guimaras the amount of P458,027.08 with legal interest from the time this Decision shall have become final until the said amount is fully paid and the cost of proceedings…”
At the center of the decade-old controversy was the December 1998 “well-meaning” P1.2 million cash gift to all municipal government workers of said town.
Docketed as Criminal Case No. 27784 before the First Division of the Sandiganbayan, graft raps were relentlessly pursued against the accused town officials. Buenavista Councilor Jonayreh Gaitano stood as private complainant and government witness along with retired government auditor Modesto Uy of the Commission on Audit (COA).
It was the Office of the Ombudsman in the Visayas that found probable cause on Section 3 (e) of Republic Act 3019 otherwise known as the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act.
“In this case, the three accused are charged, conspiracy with one another…” to have caused undue injury to the government. The Sandiganbayan eventually ruled that essential elements of violation were committed particularly by the former mayor and the town treasurer.
Partiality, bad faith and gross negligence were apparently proven thus “proof of the existence of any of these modes in connection with the prohibited acts under Section 3 (e) should suffice to warrant conviction.”
The cash gift was apparently released by virtue of a null and void Appropriation Ordinance. “Null and void” because the mayor failed to secure legislative approval. In fact, COA eventually issued a Notice of Disallowance and demanded full refund of the P1,253,246.50.
“The presence of the first element is not disputed… on the second element, evident bad faith is imputed against the accused for the alleged payments/disbursements… there is evident bad faith when there is a dishonest purpose or conscious doing of a wrong or a breach of sworn duty through some motive or intent of ill will or the act partakes the nature of fraud. It is fundamental that no money shall be paid out of the local treasury unless properly and validly appropriated by law or ordinance,” excerpts of the 16-paged Sandiganbayan Decision as obtained by The News Today (TNT) went. “As to the third element, the accused contend that there is no actual injury suffered by the government because the amount paid was refunded but the evidence submitted shows that the whole amount has not yet been fully refunded and that there is still a balance of P458,027.08. Hence to say the least, the government suffered injury for such unpaid balance or the recipients thereof enjoyed unwarranted benefits thereby showing the presence of this element.”
The Sandiganbayan further ruled that conspiracy was present on the former mayor and the town treasurer’s acts in that questioned December 1998 cash gift disbursement.
“In sum, what matters it that accused Fernandez as mayor ordered and accused as treasurer implemented the payments/disbursements without a proper and valid appropriation ordinance in clear violation of the law,” the Decision continued. “Hence, only accused Fernandez and Garonita should be held liable because their combined acts caused or resulted into the illegal payments/disbursements.”
Associate Justice Rodolfo A. Ponferrada penned the Decision concurred by Associate Justice Alexander Gesmundo and Associate Justice Norberto Geraldez as chairman.
Promulgation was dated March 12, 2009 with Court records made public over the weekend.