A former local treasury executive of San Carlos City was acquitted by a regional court of the charge of malversation through falsification involving P9 million in public funds withdrawn in 2009.

In a 37-page decision issued on April 28, 2025, Pangasinan Regional Trial Court Branch 77 Presiding Judge Rhodalyn N. Montemayor-Abas ruled that the prosecution failed to establish the guilt beyond a reasonable doubt of Leny Fermin, a former Local Treasury Operations Officer II.

“Fragments of evidence, when fit together, show that the Php9,000,000.00 withdrawn from Landbank did not appear to be missing,” the court said. “The presumption of innocence in favor of an accused in a criminal case is a basic constitutional guarantee.”

Fermin, who was then designated as a Special Disbursing Officer, withdrew the funds from Landbank on March 31, 2009. The prosecution alleged she forged the city mayor’s signature on the check and misappropriated the amount.

However, the court found critical gaps in the evidence, including the lack of a Commission on Audit (COA) report confirming that public funds were lost.

Although a report from the National Bureau of Investigation concluded that the mayor’s signature had been forged, the court said there was no proof linking Fermin to the alleged falsification.

Fermin initially claimed she was robbed after encashing the check, but later retracted that story in court, saying the funds had in fact been used to pay salaries of city employees. The court noted that no prosecution witness contradicted this claim or testified that the salaries had not been paid.

The case, which lingered for over 15 years, ends with Fermin’s full acquittal.

The court reiterated the constitutional standard: “Short of proof beyond a reasonable doubt, it is not only the right of the accused to be freed; it is even the constitutional duty of the court to acquit.” (Eva Visperas)

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