The Sandiganbayan has absolved an ex-official of the Department of Finance over the fraudulent approval of a P3.188-million tax credit certificate issued to a steel company more than two decades ago.

In a 17-page resolution handed down on 27 December 2023, the Sandiganbayan Fourth Division found Raul de Vera, DoF's former acting deputy executive director at the Tax Credit and Duty Drawback Center, not guilty of estafa and graft.

De Vera walked free from the raps after the anti-graft court granted his demurrer to evidence, citing the prosecution's inability to present sufficient grounds to warrant a conviction.

A demurrer to evidence is a motion filed by the accused on the ground that the evidence adduced by the prosecution is insufficient for conviction.

"In view of the above, this Court is impelled to resolve the demurrers in favor of accused De Vera. It would be superfluous to still require him to go through the rigors of trial considering that the prosecution evidence is not sufficient enough to sustain the indictment, much less warrant the conviction of the accused beyond reasonable doubt," it said.

 De Vera, alongside ex-DoF officials Antonio Belicena, Cesar Estolano Jr. and Cherry Gomez, was accused of conspiracy with representatives of Universal Steel Smelting Co. Inc. for awarding the latter a tax credit certificate to the tune of P3,187,380 to 1997.

Graft probers' records showed that the DoF officials issued the certificate in favor of USSCI despite knowing fully well that the documents presented by the firm were not duly issued and the original copies were nonexistent.

In clearing De Vera of the raps, the Sandiganbayan cited the jurisprudence's rule that the conviction of the accused must rest, not on the weakness of the defense, but on the strength of the prosecution.

"The burden of proof is on the prosecution, and unless it discharges that burden, the accused need not even offer evidence on his behalf, and he would be entitled to an acquittal," the court said.

Citing De Vera's admission that he had signed the evaluation report on behalf of and on top of the printed name of his co-accused, ex-deputy administrator Uldarico Andutan Jr., the Sandiganbayan ruled that it cannot be taken as sufficient evidence that he acted with "manifest partiality, evident bad faith, or gross inexcusable negligence in signing the document."