G.R. No. 134493. August 16, 2005.
BUENCAMINO CRUZ, Petitioner, vs. THE HONORABLE SANDIGANBAYAN and THE PEOPLE OF THE PHILIPPINES, Respondents.

FACTS

Petitioner Buencamino Cruz was the Municipal Mayor of Bacoor, Cavite. Following an audit of the municipality’s 1991-1992 financial transactions, the Commission on Audit discovered a double payment for construction materials purchased from Kelly Lumber and Construction Supply in the amount of ₱54,542.56. The double payment was effected through two disbursement vouchers signed by Cruz. The corresponding PNB checks for these payments were made payable to the order of Cruz himself, not to the supplier, and he subsequently encashed them.
An Information was filed before the Sandiganbayan charging Cruz with violation of Section 3(e) of R.A. 3019 (Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act) for causing undue injury to the government by making a second payment despite a prior settlement of the account. After trial, the Sandiganbayan convicted Cruz, sentencing him to imprisonment and perpetual disqualification from public office. The court found that the act of making the checks payable to and encashed by Cruz, instead of the supplier, demonstrated evident bad faith.

ISSUE

Whether the Sandiganbayan erred in convicting petitioner Buencamino Cruz of violation of Section 3(e) of R.A. 3019.

RULING

The Supreme Court affirmed the conviction. The legal logic centered on the elements of the crime under Section 3(e) of R.A. 3019: the accused is a public officer; the act was done in the discharge of official functions; and it was done through manifest partiality, evident bad faith, or gross inexcusable negligence, causing undue injury or giving unwarranted benefit. All elements were proven.
Petitioner, as mayor, was a public officer who signed the disbursement vouchers in his official capacity. The Court agreed with the Sandiganbayan’s finding of evident bad faith. The making of the checks payable to Cruz personally, rather than to the legitimate supplier Kelly Lumber, was a gross deviation from standard accounting and government disbursement procedures. This irregularity, coupled with the fact that the obligation had already been paid, was not a mere error but a conscious and deliberate design to secure an unwarranted benefit for himself, causing undue injury to the municipal government. His act of encashing the checks consummated the illegal diversion of public funds. The defense of good faith was untenable given the patent irregularity of the transaction, which spoke for itself (res ipsa loquitur). The penalty imposed by the Sandiganbayan was within the range provided by law.