G.R. Nos. 251587-88. June 15, 2022.
PEOPLE OF THE PHILIPPINES, PLAINTIFF-APPELLEE, VS. ROGELIO M. PIMENTEL AND HERMINIGILDO Q. REYES, ACCUSED-APPELLANTS.

FACTS

Accused-appellants Rogelio M. Pimentel, the Municipal Mayor of Tago, Surigao del Sur, and Herminigildo Q. Reyes, the Barangay Captain of Unaban, Tago, Surigao del Sur, were charged with violation of Section 3(e) of R.A. No. 3019 (Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act) and Malversation of Public Property under Article 217 of the Revised Penal Code. The charges stemmed from the alleged unauthorized use of 286 sacks of cement and 280 ten-millimeter steel bars, which were government properties owned by the Provincial Government of Surigao del Sur and granted to the Unaban Farmers Association for the construction of a Solar Dryer Pavement. The materials, received by Reyes in December 2013, were allegedly borrowed by Pimentel and transported to Socorro, Surigao del Norte, for his personal use in January 2014, without the knowledge and consent of the farmers’ association. The prosecution’s evidence included an affidavit-complaint, a Committee Report from the Sangguniang Bayan, and joint affidavits from barangay officials. During pre-trial, the parties stipulated that both accused were public officers and that the construction materials were government property. The defense presented Pimentel and Reyes as witnesses, who admitted in their Counter-Affidavits the allegations concerning the receipt and subsequent movement of the materials but claimed the materials were merely transferred for safekeeping due to lack of secure storage and were later replaced. The Sandiganbayan found them guilty beyond reasonable doubt of both charges.

ISSUE

The central issue is whether the Sandiganbayan correctly found accused-appellants guilty beyond reasonable doubt of violation of Section 3(e) of R.A. No. 3019 and Malversation of Public Property.

RULING

The Supreme Court affirmed the Sandiganbayan’s decision with modification. The Court found the accused-appellants guilty beyond reasonable doubt of Malversation of Public Property under Article 217 of the Revised Penal Code but acquitted them of violation of Section 3(e) of R.A. No. 3019 due to the prosecution’s failure to prove the element of causing undue injury or giving unwarranted benefits with evident bad faith, manifest partiality, or gross inexcusable negligence.
For Malversation, all elements were established: (1) the accused were accountable public officers (Barangay Captain Reyes was the accountable officer, and Mayor Pimentel conspired with him); (2) they had custody or control of the public property by reason of their office; (3) the property was government-owned; and (4) they appropriated, took, misappropriated, or consented to the taking of the property for personal use. Their defense of having the materials replaced was deemed an afterthought and did not negate criminal liability, as the misappropriation was complete upon the unauthorized taking and use. The Court upheld the penalties imposed by the Sandiganbayan: imprisonment, perpetual special disqualification, and fines.
For the graft charge, while the accused were public officers who acted in the discharge of their functions, the prosecution failed to convincingly establish that their act of allowing the use of the materials constituted evident bad faith, manifest partiality, or gross inexcusable negligence, or that it resulted in undue injury or unwarranted benefits. Thus, they were acquitted of this charge.