Sandiganbyan convicts ex-Tayug officials
A FORMER mayor and a municipal treasurer of Tayug have been convicted of malversation charges for misappropriating public funds amounting to P787, 700 in 2001.
Ex-Mayor Marius Ladio and then officer-in-charge Municipal Treasurer Virgilio Arquero were found guilty of Malversation of Public Funds as contained in Article 217 of the Revised Penal Code for misusing the amount by means of “vales/ IOUs/ chits.”
The 19-page decision was penned by Associate Justice Rodolfo Ponferrada and concurred in by Associate Justices Efren De La Cruz and Rafael Lagos of the Sandiganbayan’s First Division.
The Court meted Ladio and Arquero 10 years and one day of prision mayor as minimum, to 18 years, 8 months and one day of reclusion temporal as maximum, plus a fine equivalent to the malversed amount of P787, 700 with subsidiary imprisonment in case of insolvency, and other accessory penalties provided by law to indemnify, jointly and severally, the municipal of Tayug.
At the trial, Ladio admitted that he actually took the amount, which was included in the P3,678,247.34 shortage of accused Arquero.
The former mayor said he withdrew these from the daily collections of the municipal treasurer through “vales/ IOUs/ chits” that he issued/ executed and included in the lists attached to the Commission on Audit (COA) Report.
FOR ROADS
Ladio, however, denied that he spent the funds for his personal use.
He said the money was utilized on the various projects of the municipality such as the re-graveling/ rehabilitation of barangay roads destroyed by typhoons, and delivery of various construction materials.
In the decision, the Court held that the report presented by Ladio does not substantiate his claim that he disbursed or used his personal funds when he undertook the various municipal projects.
“It is to be noted that on cross-examination, [accused Ladio] admitted that because of the problems that he encountered during his term of office as municipal mayor to procure funds for the development of his municipality, he was able to procure from then President Estrada the amount of Php1M for the 100% concreting of the barangay roads of Barangay Evangelista. By this admission, it is clear that the funds used for the repair/ rehabilitation of the barangay roads of Barangay Evangelista road came from then President Estrada and not from his personal fund,” the decision stated.
The Court added that without Arquero’s cooperation/ acquiescence in the release of the public funds, the illegal disbursement could not have been made possible or committed by Ladio.
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