G.R. No. L‑3729
Date: 4 October 1907

FACTS
– Municipal Treasurer Eusebio Reyes (Hagonoy) telephoned Treasurer Zacarias Valencia (Paombong) on 25 August, requesting a sum of ₱800.
– Valencia sent ₱800 by messenger to Reyes between 11:00 a.m. and 12:00 p.m.; the money was later returned to Valencia the same day.
– Initial counting of Paombong’s funds showed no deficit; a later recount revealed a ₱3 shortfall.
– Reyes used the ₱800 to cover a deficit in his own accounts. Subsequent recounts of Hagonoy’s accounts showed a shortage of roughly ₱900.
– The central issue was whether the ₱800 sent by Valencia originated from Paombong’s municipal treasury or from his private funds.

ISSUE
Did Treasurer Zacarias Valencia unlawfully appropriate municipal funds, thereby committing the offense under Article 392, paragraph 3 of the Penal Code, and is the imposed penalty proper?

RULING
The Court held that the ₱800 was municipal money, not private funds, and that Valencia’s testimony regarding its source was not credible. The facts constituted the crime of malversation of municipal funds under Art. 392(3). The judgment of the lower courtimposing a ₱50 fine and a suspension from office for two years and one day, with costs against the appellantwas affirmed.

Concurrence: Chief Justice Arellano and Justices Torres, Johnson, and Tracey.