528 Phil. 1150
CHICO-NAZARIO, J.:`
Checks issued as payments to suppliers/creditors were deposited into the account of the Municipal Mayor at Philippine Savings Bank, Lemery Branch under Account # 1818010393 in violation of R.A. 6713.On the strength of said audit report, an amended complaint-affidavit dated 8 March 2002 was filed by respondent Franco P. Casanova accusing petitioner Fe M. Cabrera, former Mayor, and her husband, incumbent Mayor Librado M. Cabrera, both of the Municipality of Taal, Batangas, with violations of Article 217 in relation to Articles 171 and 48 of the Revised Penal Code, [4] and of Republic Act No. 3019, as amended. The case was docketed as OMB-L-C-02-0166-B.
Section 7, Par. a of R.A. 6713 otherwise known as the "Code of Conduct and Ethical Standards for Public Officials and Employees" states that: Public officials and employees shall not, directly or indirectly, have any financial or material interest in any transaction requiring the approval of their office.
Review of cleared checks issued as payments to suppliers/creditors of the municipality (Annex Ak) revealed that the payees had indorsed the checks to the Municipal Mayor who eventually deposited the same to her personal account with Philippine Savings Bank under account no. 1818010393, which is contrary to the aforesaid regulation.
Details are shown below:Management Comments:
Disb. Voucher # Payee Check# Date
Amount1 101-98-09-1025
Budget Wise Marketing 64131 9/23/98 19,308.64 2 Narciso Gumapac 68614 11/26/98 13,363.64 3 Taal Volcano Restaurant 68616 11/26/98 11,672.73 4 Taal Volcano Restaurant 68615 11/26/98 11, 672.73 5 101-98-12-1302 Aguila Hardware 68622 12/1/98 19,386.45 6 101-98-12-1303 Aguila Hardware 68623 12/1/98 19,221.10 7 101-98-12-1350 Aguila Hardware 68651 12/14/98 19,221.10 8 Aguila Hardware 68654 12/14/98 19,454.55 9 101-98-12-1393 Hipolito Hardware 68676 12/21/98 19,109.23 10 Jeery Encarnacion 68677 12/21/98 19,545.55 Total P171,955.72
And the suppliers/creditors wanted to have their checks converted into cash. Wanting to help, the mayor gave in to their request. She encashed their checks without charge. She did not earn even a single centavo from any of said transaction, on the contrary she was always at the losing end of the deal.
Despite of her good intention, at the start of CY 1999 and up to the present the Honorable Mayor stops and no longer accommodate the request of the suppliers and creditors, because the people might perceived (sic) that she would be benefiting from said transaction.
Team Rejoinder:
Considering that the payees are known businessmen/women of the locality and have been a supplier of the municipality for quite some time and that the depository bank is just located to a nearby municipality, it is unlikely that they do not maintain their own bank account.
Team Recommendation:
Instruct the Municipal Treasurer to ensure that checks payments should be released only to payee and that the checks should be properly stamped "For Payees Account Only" to avoid being encashed by other person or deposited to account other than the payee's.
Also, municipal officials should be prohibited from being used as conduit or facilitator/fixer by supplier/contractor for the early or expeditious release of their financial claims against the municipality for financial consideration.[3]
That on or about December 01, 1998, or sometime prior or subsequent thereto, in the Municipality of Taal, Province of Batangas, Philippines, and within the jurisdiction of this Honorable Court, accused FE M. CABRERA, a public officer, being then the Municipal Mayor of Taal, Batangas, and as such had administrative control of the funds of the municipality and whose approval is required in the disbursements of municipal funds, committing the crime herein charged in relation to her official functions and taking advantage of her public position, did then and there, willfully, unlawfully and feloniously deposit to her personal account at Philippine Savings Bank, Lemery Branch under Account No. 1818010393 a Land Bank Check No. 68623 issued by the Municipal Government of Taal, Batangas to Aguila Hardware in the amount of NINETEEN THOUSAND THREE HUNDRED EIGHTY SIX PESOS and 45/100 (P19,386.45) thereby having financial or pecuniary interest in the business, contract or transaction in connection which she intervened or took part in her official capacity as the Mayor of Taal, Batangas.[5]The nine other Informations are similarly worded except for the date, number, amount, and payee of the checks. The pertinent data in the other informations are as follows:
Crim. Case No. | Date | Check No. | Amount | Payee |
27539 | Dec. 01, 1998 | 68622 | P19,221.10 | Aguila Hardware |
27540 | Dec. 14, 1998 | 68651 | P19,221.10 | Aguila Hardware |
27541 | Dec. 14, 1998 | 68654 | P19,454.55 | Aguila Hardware |
27542 | Dec. 21, 1998 | 68676 | P19,109.23 | Hipolito Hardware |
27543 | Dec. 21, 1998 | 68677 | P19,545.55 | Jeery Encarnacion |
27544 | Sept. 23, 1998 | 64131 | P19,308.64 | Budget Wise Marketing |
27545 | Nov. 26, 1998 | 68614 | P13,363.64 | Narciso Gumapac |
27546 | Dec. 01, 1998 | 68616 | P11,672.73 | Taal Volcano Restaurant |
27547 | Dec. 01, 1998 | 68615 | P11,672.73 | Taal Volcano Restaurant |
WITH ALL DUE RESPECT, PUBLIC RESPONDENT OMBUDSMAN ACTED WITHOUT OR IN EXCESS OF HIS JURISDICTION OR WITH GRAVE ABUSE OF DISCRETION IN APPROVING THE RESOLUTION DATED 03 JUNE 2002.Petitioner contends that the Ombudsman acted without or in excess of his jurisdiction or with grave abuse of discretion in approving the resolution dated 3 June 2002 issued by Graft Investigation Officer II Adoracion A. Agbada recommending the filing of 10 informations against her for violation of Section 3(h) of Republic Act No. 3019, as amended. She explains that she merely acceded to the request of the payees of the subject checks to advance to them their cash value to spare them the hassle of encashing the same with the drawee bank. She claims the payees, in turn, endorsed the checks to her which she then deposited to her account with the Philippine Savings Bank. She contends that her signature at the back of the subject checks does not constitute evidence of an alleged financial or pecuniary interest contemplated in Section 3(h) of Republic Act No. 3019. She adds that the transactions covered by said checks actually took place and that her participation was limited to co-signing the checks which were issued in payment therefor.
WITH ALL DUE RESPECT, PUBLIC RESPONDENT ACTED WITHOUT OR IN EXCESS OF HIS JURISDICTION OR WITH GRAVE ABUSE OF DISCRETION (sic) DISAPPROVING THE ORDER DATED 27 NOVEMBER 2002 OF THE OSP WHICH HAD RECOMMENDED THE DISMISSAL OF CRIMINAL CASES NOS. 27538 TO 27547.
In support of her Motion for Reinvestigation, accused Cabrera submitted the Affidavits of Antonio Aguila, proprietor of Aguila Hardware; Paulina Aala, General Manager of Taal Volcano Restaurant; Narciso Gumapac and Jeery Encarnacion, two of the payees in the checks issued by the Municipality, all of whom claim that they requested accused Cabrera to give them the equivalent cash in exchange of the checks issued by the Municipality in their favor as they allegedly needed the money to support their working capital requirements and thereby continue to do business with the Municipality. According to the said affiants, accused Cabrera agreed to accommodate their requests; hence, after the checks were endorsed in favor of accused Cabrera, the latter gave them the corresponding value of the checks in cash. In the same breath, however, they all claim that accused Cabrera's "act of depositing the subject checks in her account was in payment of money that she had advanced."Probable cause, for the purpose of filing a criminal information, has been defined as such facts as are sufficient to engender a well-founded belief that a crime has been committed and that respondent is probably guilty thereof. It is a reasonable ground of presumption that a matter is, or may be, well-founded, such a state of facts in the mind of the prosecutor as would lead a person of ordinary caution and prudence to believe, or entertain an honest or strong suspicion, that a thing is so. The term does not mean "actual and positive cause" nor does it import absolute certainty.[9]
Exactly how the indorsement of the checks in favor of Cabrera and their deposit in the latter's account possibly facilitate the encashment of such checks, was not at all explained. If the checks have already been issued and were already in the name of the suppliers, then all that the latter needed to do was go to the drawee bank, which is just in the next municipality, and present the checks for encashment. It is likewise worthy to note that the payees of said checks are supposed to be known businessmen in their locality and have supposedly been doing business with the Municipality for quite sometime. Hence, it is quite unlikely that they do not maintain their own bank account. (COA Report, p. 30)
It is likewise well to note that of the six payees indicated in the subject checks, only four (4) executed Affidavits in defense of accused Cabrera. Of the four (4) affiants, one (1) is not even the authorized signatory of the entity indicated in the check. As can be gleaned from the Certification (Annex "C" of the Complaint-Affidavit dated February 15, 2002; Annex "A" of the Amended Complaint-Affidavit dated March 8, 2002) issued by the Municipal Accountant, Ms. Emma A. Ramirez, the authorized signatory of Taal Volcano Restaurant is Aquilina Aala, not Paulina Aala. In fact, the payee indicated in the checks pertaining to Taal Volcano Restaurant is "Taal Volcano Restaurant or Aquilina Aala." (cf. Annexes "B-1" and "B-3" of the Complaint-Affidavit dated February 15, 2002; Annexes "C-2" and "C-4" of the Amended Complaint-Affidavit dated March 8, 2002) Paulina Aala, whose Affidavit was submitted by accused Cabrera in support of her Motion for Reinvestigation, has absolutely no participation in the indorsement of the said checks in favor of accused Cabrera.
Moreover, it is worthy to note that the sample signature of Aquilina Aala appearing in the Certification prepared by the Municipal Accountant (Annex "C" of the Complaint-Affidavit dated February 15, 2002; Annex "A" of the Amended Complaint-Affidavit dated March 8, 2002) appears to be different from those appearing at the back of the subject checks which were indorsed to and deposited in the account of accused Cabrera (cf. dorsal side of Annexes "B-1" and "B-3" of the Complaint-Affidavit dated February 15, 2002; dorsal side of Annexes "C-2" and "C-4" of the Amended Complaint-Affidavit dated March 8, 2002).
Similarly, the signature of Narciso Gumapac in his Affidavit submitted by accused Cabrera in support of her Motion for Reinvestigation (cf. Annex "4" of the Motion for Reinvestigation) does not even come anywhere close to the signature appearing in the dorsal portion of Check No. 68614 issued in his name (cf. Annex "B-4" of the Complaint-Affidavit dated February 15, 2002; Annex "C-1" of the Amended Complaint-Affidavit dated March 8, 2002).
It is likewise worthy to note that "Herminio Hipolito Hardware & Construction Supply or Herminio Hipolito" and "Budget Wise Marketing," in whose favor some of the subject checks were issued (cf. Annexes "B-2" and "B-4 of the Complaint-Affidavit dated February 15, 2002; Annexes "C-1" and "C-3" of the Amended Complaint-Affidavit dated March 8, 2002) do not appear in the list of suppliers of the Municipality (cf. Annex "C" of the Complaint-Affidavit dated February 15, 2002; Annex "A" of the Amended Complaint-Affidavit dated March 8, 2002)
Furthermore, a perusal of the check issued in favor of "Budget Wise Marketing" shows that the same was, in fact, indorsed by accused Cabrera herself and her husband (see dorsal side of Annex "B-4" of the Complaint-Affidavit dated February 15, 2002 and Annex "C-1" of the Amended Complaint-Affidavit dated March 8, 2002). This clearly supports the allegation of complainant that accused and her husband were the beneficiaries of the transaction covered by the subject check. Notably, accused Cabrera utterly failed to explain this particular circumstance or rebut complainant's allegation in this regard.[8]
The prosecution of offenses committed by public officers is vested in the Office of the Ombudsman. To insulate the Office from outside pressure and improper influence, the Constitution as well as R.A. 6770 has endowed it with wide latitude of investigatory and prosecutory powers virtually free from legislative, executive, or judicial intervention. This Court consistently refrains from interfering with the exercise of its powers, and respects the initiative and independence inherent in the Ombudsman who, "beholden to no one, acts as the champion of the people and the preserver of the integrity of the public service."In Maturan v. People,[14] we ruled:
A policy of non-interference by the courts in the exercise of the Ombudsman's constitutionally mandated powers is based not only upon respect for the investigatory and prosecutory powers granted by the Constitution to the Office of the Ombudsman but upon practicality as well. Otherwise, the functions of the courts will be grievously hampered by innumerable petitions assailing the dismissal of investigatory proceedings conducted by the Office of the Ombudsman with regard to complaints filed before it, in much the same way that the courts would be extremely swamped if they were compelled to review the exercise of discretion on the part of the fiscals, or prosecuting attorneys, each time they decide to file an information in court or dismiss a complaint by a private complainant.Petitioner likewise faults the Ombudsman for disapproving the order dated 27 November 2002 of Ombudsman Prosecutor II Cicero D. Jurado, Jr. that recommended the dismissal of the cases arguing that the latter's finding of lack of probable cause was not arrived at haphazardly or without basis. Citing the case of Roxas v. Vasquez,[15] petitioner tries to persuade the court to interfere with the Ombudsman's finding of probable cause against her due to the flip-flopping of the findings and resolutions of the OSP and the Ombudsman.