SB-16-CRM-0323-0324 People Vs Magdalena K
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REPUBLIC OF THE PHILIPPINES SANDIGANBAYAN Quezon City Third Division PEOPLE OF THE PHILIPPINES, Crim. Case No. Plaintiff, SB-16-CRM-0323 to 0324 For: Violation of Section 3(e) of Republic Act No. 3019 -versus- MAGDALENA K. LUPOYON, Present: ET AL., Cabotaje-Tang, A.M., PJ., Accused. Chairperson Fernandez, B.,R, J. and Moreno, R.,B, J. PROMULGATED: Tf?62P'V 'R~y ~! Z[;J:2-J x--------------------------------------------------------- DECISION Moreno, J.: Accused Magdalena Kintapan Lupoyon and Albert Tenglab Marafo are charged before this Court with violation of Section 3(e) of Republic Act (R.A.) No. 3019, as amended. The Information reads as follows: That on 26 June 2009 or sometime prior or subsequent thereto, in the Municipality of Barlig, Mountain Province, Philippines, and within the jurisdiction of this Honorable Court; the above named accused, MAGDALENA K. LUPOYON, a high ranking public officer with salary grade 27, being then the Municipal Mayor and ALBERT TENGLAB MARAFO, then Municipal Treasurer, both of the Municipality of Barlig, Mountain Province; while in the performance of their official and/or administrative functions; conspiring with one another, committing the offense in relation to their office, acting with evident bad faith or gross inexcusable negligence; did then and there wilfully, unlawfully and criminally cause undue injury to the Municipality of Barlig, Mountain 1 Province by causing the repair or renovation of the pathway leading to ~ I tt AD i : /-;~ Decision SB-16-CRM-0323-0324 People v. Lupoyon, et 01. x-----------------x Mount Amuyao in the amount of Fifty Thousand Pesos (Php50, 000. 00), without public bidding as required under Section 10 of Republic Act No. 9184, otherwise known as the Government Procurement Reform Act and its implementing rules and regulations, to the damage and prejudice of the government in the aforestated amount. CONTRARY TO LAW.! Lupoyon and Marafo, together with Edmundo Challiis Sidchayao, Clark Chatongna Ngaya, Fernando Yacam-ma Cablog and Danilo Rabina Lucas were likewise charged with violation of Section 3(e) ofR.A. No. 3019 in an Information worded as follows: That on 23 December 2009 or sometime prior or subsequent thereto, in the Municipality of Barlig, Mountain Province, Philippines, and within the jurisdiction of this Honorable Court; the above named accused, MAGDALENA K. LUPOYON, a high ranking public officer with salary grade 27, being then the Municipal Mayor, EDMUNDO C. SIDCHAYAO, then Municipal Vice-Mayor; CLARK CHATONGNA NGAYA and FERNANDO YACAM-A1A CABLOG, both then Sangguniang Bayan Member, ALBERT TENGLAB A1ARAFO, then Municipal Treasurer and DANILO RABINA LUCAS, Municipal Engineer, all of the Municipality of Barlig, Mountain Province; while in the performance of their official and/or administrative functions; conspiring with one another, committing the offense in relation to their office, acting with evident bad faith or gross inexcusable negligence; did then and there wilfully, unlawfully and criminally cause undue injury to the Municipality of Barlig, Mountain Province by causing the construction of the open gymnasium in the amount of Two Million Five Hundred Thousand Pesos (Php2, 500,000.00), without public bidding as required under Section 10 of Republic Act No. 9184, otherwise known as the Government Procurement Reform Act and its implementing rules and regulations, to the damage and prejudice of the government in the aforestated amount. CONTRARY TO LAW2 Accordingly, the Court issued a Hold Departure Order3 against Lupoyon, Marafo, Sidchayao, Ngaya, Cablog and Lucas per its Resolution of June 25, 2016. In the same Resolution, we also issued Warrants of Arrest against the six (6) accused. Ngaya, Sidchayao and Cablog filed a Motion to Quash Information and/or Motion to Dismiss4 before the Sandiganbayan on October 27,2016 in SB-16-CRM-0324. /~ Record (vol. V:, p. 1. ! 2 Record (vol. 16, pp. 3-4. f Id at 370-372. It Ii 4 .: Record, vol. III, pp. 37-51. r : 2 Decision SB-16-CRM-0323-0324 People v. Lupoyon, et 01. x-----------------x In our ResolutionS dated December 7, 2016, we denied this motion for lack of merit. Ngaya, Sidchayao and Cablog moved to reconsider this Resolution, but the Court denied their motion for reconsideration on March 30,2017.6 Lupoyon, Lucas and Marafo likewise filed their respective motions to quash and/or dismiss, but the Court denied these motions in its Resolution of January 27,2017. When accused Lupoyon, Marafo, Sidchayao, Ngaya, Cablog and Lucas were arraigned, each of them individually and separately pleaded "NOT GUILTY',.8 The parties did not enter into any plea bargaining agreement during the pre-trial conference that ensued. However, the parties made the following stipulation of facts: STIPULATIONS OF FACT SB 16-CRM-0323 1. Accused Magdalena Kintapan Lupoyon admits her personal identity in the Information filed in SB-16-CRM-0323. 2. That during the period alleged in the Information in SB-16-CRM- 0323, accused Magdalena Kintapan Lupoyon was a public officer, holding the position of Municipal Mayor in the Municipality of Barlig, Mountain Province. 3. Accused Albert Tenglab Marafo admits his personal identity in the Information filed in SB-16-CRM-0323. 4. That during the period alleged in the Information in SB-16-CRM- 0323, accused Albert Tenglab Marafo was public officer, holding the position of Municipal Treasurer in the Municipality of Barlig, Mountain Province. SB 16-CRM-0324 1. Accused Magdalena Kintapan Lupoyon, Edmundo Challiis Sidchayao, Clark Chatongna Ngaya and Fernando Yacam-ma Cablog, admit their respective personal identities in the Information filed in SB-16-CRM-0324. [d. at 141-144. i [d. at 194-197. Id. at 168-175. Records, volume III, p. 25. Lupoyon and Marafo pleaded 'not guilty' in both SB-16-CRM-0323 and 0324. 3 Decision S8-16-CRM-0323-0324 People v. Lupoyon, et 01. x-----------------x 2. Accused Albert Tenglab Marafo and Danilo Rabina Lucas admit their respective personal identities in the Information filed in SB- 16-CRM-0324. 3. That during the period alleged in the Information in SB-16-CRM- 0324, the accused were public officers, holding the following positions in the Municipality of Barlig, Mountain Province: Magdalena Kintapan Lupoyon Municipal Mayor Edmundo Challiis Sidchayao Vice Mayor Clark Chatongna Ngaya Sangguninang Bayan Member Fernando Yacam-ma Cablog Sangguninang Bayan Member Albert Tenglab Marafo Municipal Treasurer Danilo Rabina Lucas Municipal Engineer The documentary exhibits for the prosecution were marked as Exhibits "A" to "AAAA" (with sub-markings), and that of the defense as Exhibits "1" to "48" (Lupoyon); Exhibits "1" to "4" (Sidchayao, Ngaya and Cablog); Exhibits" 1" to "7" (Marafo); and Exhibits" 1" to "6" (Lucas), also with sub-markings. The intended witnesses for the prosecution were Ayson Naulgan; Albert Kiwan; Esther Daoas; Nikki Awilan; Dibangkitun Ayoong; Mary Falag-ey; Hilario Dumasan; Val Tubay; Bernardo Acosta; Raul Bulaong; Representative from ABS CBN Broadcasting Corporation; Rolando Valdueza; Judith Zamora; the Bank Manager/Representative from Bank of the Philippine Islands, West Triangle; Representative from BPI Main Office; Records Custodian and/or Secretary, Sangguninang Bayan of the Municipality of Barlig; Joseph Padcayan; Iluminada Balneg; Johnny Aglegan; Alfredo Pico; Mary D. Bacwaden; Lynn Sicangco; Mayor Genesis Changilan; Ceferino Oryan; Maximo Guting; Myrna Pakurao; Luis Mejia; Representative from the Office of the Municipal Treasurer; Representative from the Office of the Municipal Accountant; Representative from the Office of the Mayor; Representative from the Philippine National Bank in Bontoc; and Representative from GMA-7. The intended witnesses for the defense, aside from the six accused, were Iluminada Balneg and Val Tubay (for Lupoyon); Rowena Hilario Dumasan, Nikki Awilan, Dibangkituin Ayoong, Mary D. Bacdawen, and the authorized representative of the contractor who constructed the open gymnasium (for Sidchayao, Ngaya and Cablog); and Val Tubay, Quimson I Decision SB-16-CRM-0323-0324 People v. Lupoyon, et 01. x-----------------x Ingson, Iluminada Balneg and the representative from the Municipal Local Government Unit of Barlig, Mountain Province (for Lucas). EVIDENCE FOR THE PROSECUTION The testimony of Esther Fagsao Daoas, as culled from her Judicial Affidavit, consisted of the following: that she was a State Auditor at the Commission on Audit from 1994 until 2018; that she was assigned as Audit Team Leader at the COA-Mountain Province in 2009; that she supervised the audit of receipt of funds by the Municipality of Barlig, Mountain Province, particularly the donations by GMA Network, Inc. and ABS-CBN Broadcasting Corporation in the amounts of P364,890.00 and P3,000,000.00, respectively; that during the cash examination of the cash accountabilities of the Municipal Treasurer of Barlig, the duplicate of Official Receipt No. 0051261 issued to ABS-CBN was found to have been marked 'cancelled'; that when she sought the explanation of Municipal Treasurer Albert Marafo, the latter told her that the Sangguniang Bayan of Barlig authorized him and the Municipal Mayor to deposit the amount donated by ABS-CBN to a PNB savings account; that she prepared an Audit Observation Memorandum (AOM) after she found that there had been a deliberate attempt not to subj ect the donated funds to government accounting and auditing rules and regulations, as evidenced by the deposit of these funds to the PNB instead of at the Land Bank Account of the Municipality; that she found that the amount donated by ABS-CBN was not recorded in the trust fund books of account of the municipality, and that there was no journal entry voucher and report of collections and deposits recording; that Mayor Magdalena Lupoyon submitted a letter-explanation (together with SB Resolution No. 36, S. 2009), but she found this explanation unsatisfactory; that she prepared a rejoinder reiterating her recommendations in the AOM; that after the Municipality of Barlig submitted additional documents, she prepared another AOM noting the deficiencies in the submitted documents; and that she issued a Notice of Suspension after she found the letter-explanation of Mayor Lupoyon to be unsatisfactory.