G.R. No. 89043 -65 July 16, 1990
JOSE R. VELOSO, petitioner, vs. SANDIGANBAYAN (Second Division) and the PEOPLE OF THE PHILIPPINES, respondents.

FACTS

Petitioner Jose R. Veloso, the District Auditor of the Siquijor Highway Engineering District (SHED), was charged and convicted by the Sandiganbayan as a co-principal in twenty-three counts of the complex crime of Estafa through Falsification of Public Documents. The cases stemmed from a conspiracy among certain government officials, employees, and private contractors to defraud the government of P982,207.60. The scheme involved the illegal issuance of fake Letters of Advice of Allotments and Cash Disbursement Ceilings and the falsification of General Vouchers and supporting documents to facilitate the release of public funds for non-existent or fraudulent infrastructure projects.
Veloso did not dispute the occurrence of the anomalies or the existence of a conspiracy among other accused. His petition for review centered solely on denying his participation in said conspiracy. The Sandiganbayan found his liability based on his official actions: he irregularly processed, pre-audited, and approved all the questioned general vouchers and checks despite their patently fake or irregular supporting papers. Crucially, the court found he engaged in “splitting” transactions—dividing a single P200,000 allotment into three vouchers each under P50,000—to keep the audit within his own authority and avoid mandatory review by the COA Regional Auditor, who might have uncovered the fraud.

ISSUE

Whether the Sandiganbayan correctly found that petitioner Jose R. Veloso’s participation in the conspiracy to defraud the government was proven beyond reasonable doubt.

RULING

Yes, the Supreme Court affirmed the Sandiganbayan’s decision. The Court held that conspiracy, including a conspirator’s participation, can be validly established through circumstantial evidence. Veloso’s actions provided overwhelming circumstantial proof of his conscious involvement. As the resident auditor, his primary duty was to ensure the regularity of transactions. However, he approved twenty-four vouchers leading to twenty-three checks worth nearly one million pesos, all supported by documents exhibiting glaring irregularities such as illegal funding and fictitious deliveries—anomalies that could not have escaped a trained auditor’s notice.
His deliberate “splitting” of transactions to circumvent higher audit review was a decisive indicator of guilty knowledge and intent. This practice was an integral link in the conspiracy, designed to conceal the massive fraud by preventing scrutiny from a possibly uncooperative regional auditor. The Court rejected his implied defense of mere negligence or reliance on subordinates’ initials, stating his signature would be superfluous if he served no checking function. The scale and repeated nature of his improper approvals negated inadvertence and evidenced a conscious common design with the other conspirators. Furthermore, his prior administrative penalty did not bar his criminal conviction, as the liabilities are separate. Thus, no reversible error was committed in finding him guilty beyond reasonable doubt.