SECOND DIVISION
G. R. No. 209845, July 01, 2015
MELCHOR G. MADERAZO AND DIONESIO R. VERUEN, JR., Petitioners, v. PEOPLE OF THE PHILIPPINES AND SANDIGANBAYAN, Respondents.
R E S O L U T I O N
CARPIO, J.:
That [o]n or about the period from 21 to 28 January 1998, in the Municipality of Caibiran, Province of Biliran, Philippines, and within the jurisdiction of this Honorable Court, above-named accused MELCHOR G. MADERAZO, a high ranking public officer, being then the Acting Mayor, VICTOR MADERAZO, JR., JOVENCIO PANTAS, CAMILO GO, NESTORIO ROSARIO, CESAR ALMEN, FLORENTINO BANQUILAY, CAMILO BRASIL AND IMELDA CUEVAS, being then Sangguniang Bayan (SB) Members and DIONESIO R. VERUEN, JR., then Acting Municipal Accountant, all of Caibiran, Biliran, commit[t]ing the offense in relation to their official duties and taking advantage of their official positions, conniving and confederating with each other, thru evident bad faith and manifest partiality, (or, at the very least, with gross inexcusable negligence), did then and there willfully, unlawfully and criminally cause[d] undue injury to the government by enacting SB Resolution No. 01 Series of 1998 authorizing the Municipal Mayor to enter into a negotiated contract with any local fabricator of tapping saddles and thereafter, enter[ed] into a Job Contract with one Artemio Vermug, the Proprietor of Vermug Welding Shop for the fabrication of four hundred (400) pieces of tapping saddles, worth ONE HUNDRED SIXTY THOUSAND (PI 60,000.00) PESOS, Philippine Currency to be used in the water system of the Municipality of Caibiran, when in truth and in fact said tapping saddles are not yet needed and despite non-compliance with the requirements of the negotiated contract and the non-delivery of the tapping saddles the accused prepare[d] the corresponding Disbursement Voucher and release[d] the corresponding Check in the amount of PI54,036.37 and thereafter receive[d] the proceeds thereof for their own personal benefit, to the damage and prejudice of the government.Upon arraignment, Maderazo, Veruen, Victor, Nestorio Rosario, Florentino Banquilay, and Imelda Cuevas entered a plea of not guilty. The other accused, Jovencio Pantas, Camilo Go, Cesar Almen and Camilo Brasil, are still at large. The Sandiganbayan dismissed the case against Florentino Banquilay on 30 July 2006 upon submission by the prosecution of his death certificate.
CONTRARY TO LAW.4
WHEREFORE, judgment is hereby rendered finding accused MELCHOR G. MADERAZO and DIONESIO R. VERUEN, JR. GUILTY beyond reasonable doubt as charged in the Information and sentencing each of them to suffer the indeterminate penalty of six (6) years and one (1) month as minimum to ten (10) years as maximum, and to suffer the perpetual disqualification from public office, and to indemnify, jointly and severally, the Municipality of Caibiran, Biliran, the amount of PhP 160,000.00 representing the losses that it suffered by reason of the non-delivery of the 400 pieces [of] tapping saddles with legal interest from the finality of this decision until the same is fully paid, and to proportionately pay the costs; and for insufficiency of evidence, ACQUITTING accused JOVENCIO PANTAS, NESTORIO ROSARIO, VICTOR MADERAZO, and IMELDA CUEVAS with cost de oficio. In this connection, the respective cash bonds posted by the said accused are hereby RELEASED to them subject to the usual accounting anil auditing procedures, and the Hold Departure Orders issued against them are hereby LIFTED and SET ASIDE.In a Resolution dated 13 November 2013,7 the Sandiganbayan denied the motion for reconsideration filed by Maderazo and Veruen. Hence, this petition.
With respect to accused CAMILO GO, CESAR ALMEN and CAMILO BRASIL, who are at-large and beyond the jurisdiction of the court, this Case is ordered ARCHIVED.
SO ORDERED.6
The evidence on record, however, reveals that despite the disbursement of the amount of PhP160,000.00 on January 28, 1998, for 400 pieces [of] tapping saddles, no tapping saddles were actually delivered to the municipality on the said date, as confirmed by Municipal Engineer Arnulfo Y. Camarines in the Certification that he issued that 'there was no tapping saddles received or kept by this office as of May 18, 1998." x x x.The evidence established beyond reasonable doubt that Maderazo processed the Request for Obligation and Allotment instead of the municipal engineer, received the amount of P160,000 on 28 January 1998, and covered up the non-existent tapping saddles by belatedly effecting the delivery of the tapping saddles, which did not even conform to the Job Contract. For his part, Veruen approved the Disbursement Voucher despite the lack of supporting documents, as found upon audit, in violation of his duties. Moreover, Maderazo and Veruen signed the glaringly incomplete and undated Inspection Report. Verily, Maderazo and Veruen acted in evident bad faith, or such state of mind affirmatively operating'with furtive design or with some motive or self-interest or ill will or for ulterior purposes.12 By disbursing P160,000 despite the non-existent tapping saddles, Maderazo and Veruen caused undue injury to the LGU of Caibiran for the said amount. Their concerted actions, which demonstrate a common design, justify the finding of conspiracy.
x x x x
xxx While it is true that Mr. Vermug admitted that he signed the Job Contract and the Disbursement Voucher, and even issued Official Receipt No. 0020 dated January 28, 1998, evidencing receipt of the amount of PhP 160,000.00 for the 400 pieces [of] tapping saddles, the Court finds the testimony of Mr. Vermug credible that he did not deliver or fabricate/manufacture the said 400 pieces [of] tapping saddles as per contract because it was impossible for him to fabricate and deliver the 400 tapping saddles on the same day that the Job Contract was executed on January 28, 1998. Moreover, Mr. Vermug also testified that he never received any cent from the proceeds of the contract because after he had endorsed the Land Bank Check, he returned it to accused Mayor Melcor Maderazo upon the latter's request only to discover later that it was encashed by Municipal Treasurer Domingo Vidal from the Land Bank Branch in Naval, Biliran. This testimony of Mr. Vermug was corroborated by Municipal Treasurer Domingo Vidal who testified that in the afternoon of January 28, 1998, he encashed the said check of Mr. Vermug at the Land Bank Branch in Naval, Biliran at the request of accused Melchor Maderazo, as shown by his signature on the back thereof, and that he delivered the proceeds thereof to accused Melchor Maderazo. Hence, the endorsement of the check by Mr. Vermug for no apparent reason further proves that when the check was released on January 28, 1998, he had not yet delivered the tapping saddles.
Besides the Court finds no proof/evidence to show that the 400 pieces [of] tapping saddles that were allegedly delivered by Mr. Vermug were actually installed in the different households of the municipality."
Endnotes:
* Designated acting member per Special Order No. 2079 dated 29 June 2015.
1 Under Rule 45 of the 1997 Rules of Civil Procedure. Rollo, pp. 11-41.
2 Penned by Associate Justice Rodolfo A. Ponferrada, with Associate Justices Efren N. De La Cruz and Rafael R. Lagos concurring. Id. at 42-64.
3 Id. at 65-67.
4 Id. at 79 -80
5 Id. at 42-64.
6 Id. at 63.
7 Id. at 65-67.
8Sazon v. Sandiganbayan, 598 Phil. 35 (2009); Mendoza v. People of the Philippines, 500 Phil. 550 (2005); Suller v. Sandiganbayan, 454 Phil. 704 (2003); Alvizo v. Sandiganbayan, 454 Phil. 34 (2003).
9 Section 3. Corrupt Practices of Public Officers.- In addition to acts or omissions of public officers ai'ready penalized by existing law, the following shall constitute corrupt practices of any public officer and are hereby declared to be unlawful:chanRoblesvirtualLawlibrary
x x x x
(e) Causin g any undue injury to any party, including the government, or giving any private party any unwarranted benefits, advantage or preference in the discharge of his official, administrative or judicial functions through manifest partiality, evident bad faith or gross inexcusable negligence.
This provision shall apply to officers or government corporations charged with the grant of licenses or permits or other concessions, x x x.
10Lihaylihay v. People of the Philippines, G.R. No. 191219, 31 July 2013, 702 SCRA 755; Alvarez v. People of the Philippines, 668 Phil. 216 (2011); Albert v. Sandiganbayan, 599 Phil. 439 (2009).
11Rollo, pp. 58-59.
12Albert v. Sandiganbayan, 599 Phil. 439 (2009), citing Air France v. Carrascoso, 124 Phil. 722 (1966).
13Lihaylihay v. People of the Philippines, G.R. No. 191219, 31 July 2013, 702 SCRA 755.
14Alvizo v. Sandiganbayan, 454 Phil. 34 (2003).
15People of the Philippines v. Soriano, Sr., 570 Phil. 115 (2008).