G.R. No. 185224 July 29, 2015
AMELIA CARMELA CONSTANTINO ZOLETA, Petitioner, vs. THE HONORABLE SANDIGANBAYAN [FOURTH DIVISION] and PEOPLE OF THE PHILIPPINES, Respondents.

FACTS

The case stemmed from an anonymous complaint filed with the Office of the Ombudsman-Mindanao against the petitioner, Amelia Carmela Constantino Zoleta, and others for participating in a scheme involving questionable grants and donations to fictitious entities using provincial funds. A Commission on Audit (COA) special audit in Sarangani Province discovered irregularities, including a ₱20,000.00 financial assistance given to Women in Progress (WIP), a cooperative whose members were mostly government personnel or relatives of provincial officials. The Ombudsman subsequently filed an Information before the Sandiganbayan charging the petitioner, Vice-Governor Felipe Constantino, Violeta Bahilidad, Maria Camanay, and Teodorico Diaz with malversation of public funds by falsification of public documents. The Information alleged that the accused conspired to falsify a Disbursement Voucher and supporting documents to make it appear that WIP, represented by its President (the petitioner), sought financial assistance, when in fact no such request was made, and the amount was encashed and misappropriated. The petitioner pleaded not guilty. The Sandiganbayan, in its November 5, 2008 decision, found the petitioner and Bahilidad guilty beyond reasonable doubt and sentenced them to imprisonment, perpetual disqualification from public office, and ordered them to pay back ₱20,000.00 plus interest. The Sandiganbayan ruled that Vice-Governor Constantino approved the disbursement despite lack of required documentation and conspired with the other accused, using WIP as a dummy organization. It found that the petitioner, who was the Vice-Governor’s daughter and an Executive Assistant III in his office, ordered the preparation of a letter-request using a non-existent cooperative, directed the falsification of a signature on the request, and certified and approved the disbursement voucher for signature.

ISSUE

The primary issues raised in the petition for review on certiorari were: (1) whether the Sandiganbayan’s decision was void because one of its signatories, Justice Gregory Ong, was allegedly not a natural-born Filipino citizen; (2) whether the totality of evidence presented by the prosecution was insufficient to overcome the petitioner’s presumption of innocence; and (3) whether the Sandiganbayan denied the petitioner due process by amending the pre-trial order without a hearing.

RULING

The Supreme Court DENIED the petition. On the first issue, the Court held that the Sandiganbayan’s decision was valid. The petitioner’s reliance on Kilosbayan Foundation v. Exec. Sec. Ermita was misplaced, as that case did not rule that Justice Ong was not a natural-born Filipino, but only required him to complete appropriate proceedings to prove his citizenship. The Court noted that the issue of Justice Ong’s citizenship had been definitively settled by a Regional Trial Court decision recognizing him as a natural-born citizen and by the Court En Banc. Furthermore, the Court held that even without this ruling, Justice Ong was a de facto officer during his incumbency, and his official acts were valid. On the second issue, the Court emphasized that only questions of law, not questions of fact, may be raised in a petition for review on certiorari under Rule 45. The sufficiency of the prosecution evidence is a question of fact beyond the scope of such a petition. On the third issue, the Court found no denial of due process. The Sandiganbayan’s amendment of the pre-trial order was proper, and a person charged with willful malversation can be validly convicted of malversation through negligence. The Court upheld the Sandiganbayan’s decision.