507 Phil. 365
CALLEJO, SR., J.:
That on or about June 8, 1995, or sometime prior or subsequent thereto, in Urbiztondo, Pangasinan, Philippines and within the jurisdiction of this Honorable Court, CONRADO C. DOLDOL, a public officer, being then the Municipal Treasurer, Municipality of Urbiztondo, Pangasinan, and as such accountable for public funds received and/or entrusted to him by reason of his office, acting in relation of his office and taking advantage of the same, did then and there wilfully, unlawfully and feloniously, use and benefit the amount of ONE MILLION ONE HUNDRED THIRTY-FOUR THOUSAND FOUR HUNDRED TWENTY-ONE PESOS and 54/100 (P1,134,421.54) from such public funds received by him by reason of his office, to the damage of the government in the amount aforestated.The second Information, docketed as Criminal Case No. SCC-2763, reads:
CONTRARY TO LAW.[3]
That sometime between June 8, 1995 and July 19, 1995 or sometime prior or subsequent thereto, in Urbiztondo, Pangasinan, Philippines and within the jurisdiction of this Honorable Court, CONRADO C. DOLDOL, a public officer, being then the Municipal Treasurer, Municipality of Urbiztondo, Pangasinan, and as such accountable for public funds received and/or entrusted to him by reason of his office, acting in relation of his office and taking advantage of the same, did then and there wilfully, unlawfully and feloniously, take, misappropriate and convert to his personal use and benefit the amount of ONE HUNDRED FORTY-NINE THOUSAND NINE HUNDRED FIVE PESOS and 92/100 (P149,905.92) from such public funds received by him by reason of his office, to the damage of the government in the amount aforestated.Doldol testified that the funds which the State Auditors found missing were, in fact, cash advances availed of by the municipal employees. He insisted that not a single centavo was used for his personal benefit. He averred that the charges lodged against him were premature because the same were based on an incomplete audit.
CONTRARY TO LAW.[4]
WHEREFORE, premises considered, the accused Conrado Doldol is hereby found guilty beyond reasonable doubt of the crime of Malversation of Public Funds in Criminal Case No. SCC-2760 and in Criminal Case No. SCC-2763, as defined and penalized by Art. 217 of the Revised Penal Code. In both cases, the amount involved is more than P22,000.00, as such the penalty to be imposed is reclusion temporal in its maximum period to reclusion perpetua. Considering that the accused surrendered to the police in Urbiztondo, Pangasinan (See Exh. 4) and being entitled to the provision of [the] Indeterminate Sentence Law, he is hereby sentenced to suffer an indeterminate penalty of 10 years, 1 day of prision mayor as minimum to 18 years, 8 months of reclusion temporal as maximum in each of the two cases. Further, he is ordered to pay the amount of P1,134,421.54 in Criminal Case No. SCC-2760 and another amount of P149,905.92 in Criminal Case No. SCC-2763 minus, of course, his advance payment of P200,187.80. In addition, he should be made to suffer the accessory penalties corresponding to the principal penalty imposed upon him which includes perpetual absolute disqualification (Art. 41, Rev. Penal Code) and to pay the costs.On appeal to the Court of Appeals (CA), Doldol alleged:
SO ORDERED.[5]
On February 11, 2001, the CA rendered judgment affirming the appealed decision, and, likewise, denied Doldol's motion for reconsideration thereof.
- That the trial court erred in rejecting the defenses put up by the accused as follows:
- The evidence shows that the audits were not yet completed when the letters of demand were served upon him to produce the alleged missing funds.
- He was not given the chance to further verify the records despite his request to that effect.
- There is no evidence that he took the money from the vault or brought it home.
- The missing funds, if any, were cash advances of certain municipal employees.
- His having borrowed money from the bank negates the charge of misappropriation of public funds.
- That the trial court erred in convicting the accused based on the testimonies of the auditors and the documentary evidence adduced by them.
- That the trial court erred in sentencing the accused to suffer the penalties imposed by the assailed joint decision.[6]
The petitioner reiterates his arguments that the audit of his accountabilities had not been completed because the State Auditors had yet to conduct a verification of their initial findings based on the cashbook and a reconciliation of the bank deposits of the municipality. The petitioner insists that the State Auditors did not submit any bank reconciliation statement. The petitioner argues that he was never given a chance to explain and point out that he did not incur any shortage of public funds, and that the charges against him should be dismissed. To bolster his claim, he cites the ruling of this Court in Dumagat v. Sandiganbayan[8] and Section 560 of the Manual of Instructions to Treasurers and Auditors and other Guidelines to bolster his claim.
- In affirming the joint decision of the Regional Trial Court, Branch 56, San Carlos City, Pangasinan in Crim. Case Nos. SCC-2760 and SCC-2763;
- In convicting the accused-petitioner on the basis of an erroneous and incomplete audit;
- In not dismissing the cases against the accused-petitioner.[7]
In his vain attempt to exculpate himself from criminal liability, petitioner invokes the doctrine established in Dumagat vs. Sandiganbayan, et al., [211 SCRA 171, 177 (1992)]], wherein this Honorable Court acquitted the accused of the crime of malversation of public funds, holding that "[s]ince the audit examination left much to be desired in terms of thoroughness and completeness as there were accounts which were not considered, the same cannot be made the basis for holding petitioner liable for malversation."The petition has no merit.
It is submitted that the ruling in Dumagat vs. Sandiganbayan (supra) is not applicable to the instant case as the two cases are based on different factual circumstances.
In the first place, in Dumagat vs. Sandiganbayan (supra, at p. 178), there was a finding that the "haphazard examination of the cash accountability of petitioner" was made by the auditor "in violation of the Manual of Instructions to Treasurers and Auditors" and that "the 'missing' funds would have been 'discovered' if only the auditor took into consideration the contents of the two vaults in Sindangan and Tampisilan and the fact that her collection in Dipolog City were deposited with the NFA cashier." In the instant case, there was sufficient compliance with the Manual of Instructions to Treasurers and Auditors as the two (2) auditing teams had completed their examination and, thereafter, required herein petitioner to produce or explain the shortages of funds in his custody. Notwithstanding the demand for him to explain the shortages, petitioner totally disregarded the same and further failed to produce upon demand the missing funds amounting to P1,134,421.54 and P149,905.92. There was, thus, nothing left for the team of auditors to do in the instant case. If at all, State Auditor Ritua requested for the return of petitioner's cashbook and passbooks merely to reconcile and confirm the correctness of their findings.[10]
... [T]he records at the depository banks confirmed the correctness of the COA's findings that there were, indeed, shortages in the funds under appellant's control, thus, rendering appellant's request for a re-audit as a mere superfluous and redundant procedure (TSN, Amando T. Sison; Emelie Ritua, supra).The record of the Ombudsman shows that the petitioner was required to submit his counter-affidavit, but requested for time to do so, on his representation that his request to the Commission on Audit for a re-audit was still pending. It turned out that the petitioner made no such request. Moreover, the petitioner failed to submit his counter-affidavit to the Ombudsman. Thus, the petitioner's submission that the audit of his account had not been completed before the report of the State Auditors was referred to the Ombudsman is not correct.
Appellant's contention that he was not given the chance to verify the records under audit despite a request to that effect deserves scant consideration. The records show that appellant was twice afforded ample opportunity to replenish the funds or explain the reason for its disappearance. Verily, this could have been the perfect opportunity for the appellant to verify the records and provide an acceptable reason behind the shortages in the municipal funds under his custody. Appellant, however, on both instances failed to reply to the demands given by the COA. For having refused "to face the music," so to speak, and disregarded the demands sent by the COA, appellant has only himself to blame if he has lost any opportunity to further verify the financial records of the municipality.[14]
As We have already stated hereinabove, on September 15, 1995, not too long after the shortages in the municipal funds were discovered, appellant made a partial payment/settlement in the amount of 200,187.80 pesos as evidenced by Official Receipt No. 436756 (Exhibit "8," Record, Volume III, p. 6). With respect to the balance of the missing funds, appellant promised to pay the same in installment basis. Appellant, though, failed to comply with his undertaking (Record, Volume I, p. 457; TSN, Amando T. Sison, July 27, 1998, pp. 32-33). Said payment is of no moment and could not have legally brought acquittal for the appellant. On the contrary, as guided by Section 27, Rule 130 of the Rules on Evidence, We hold that said payment, particularly when taken in conjunction with appellant's commitment to gradually pay the remainder of the missing funds, is a clear offer of compromise which must be treated as an implied admission of appellant�s guilt that he embezzled or converted the missing funds to his personal use.[15]IN LIGHT OF ALL THE FOREGOING, the petition is DENIED for lack of merit. The Decision of the Court of Appeals in CA-G.R. CR No. 25845 is AFFIRMED. Costs against the petitioner.