GR L 6973; (January, 1955) (Digest)
G.R. No. L-6973; January 12, 1955
PEOPLE OF THE PHILIPPINES, plaintiff-appellee, vs. EUSTAQUIO VILLANUEVA, defendant-appellant.
FACTS
Eustaquio Villanueva, the vice-mayor of Malinao, Capiz, was accused of violating Sections 2176 and 2761 of the Revised Administrative Code. The municipality received P1,082.50 from the National Government as its share of “Gasoline funds” for road and bridge repairs. The municipal council appropriated this amount for road maintenance via Resolution No. 35. The mayor employed Villanueva as a foreman-timekeeper for the laborers on these projects, paying him a daily wage of P2.50. After working eight days, he received P30. He was convicted in the Court of First Instance of Capiz and sentenced to six months imprisonment. The defendant appealed directly to the Supreme Court on questions of law. The Solicitor General, representing the appellee, agreed with the appellant that he should be acquitted.
ISSUE
Whether Eustaquio Villanueva, as vice-mayor, violated Sections 2176 and 2761 of the Revised Administrative Code by having a pecuniary interest in municipal work when he was employed and paid as a foreman-timekeeper on a project funded by national funds but administered by the municipality.
RULING
The Supreme Court reversed the lower court’s judgment and acquitted the defendant-appellant. The Court clarified that Section 2176 prohibits a municipal officer from having a pecuniary interest in any “municipal contract, contract work or other municipal business,” correcting a printer’s omission of the word “contract” before “work” in some editions. The Court found that Villanueva was not engaged in any “contract or contract work” for the municipality, as he was not a contractor but merely rendered personal services as an employee. Furthermore, without necessarily adopting the Solicitor General’s theory, the Court noted the view that the work was of national character (using national funds, with the municipal council acting as an agent), potentially placing Villanueva within the exception in Section 2176, which allows the vice-mayor, when not acting as mayor, to be employed in national public works.