Ex-treasurer fined P18K for fund misuse

The Sandiganbayan has convicted a former treasurer of San Pablo City in Laguna, Angelita Belen, who borrowed P277,340 from the city government’s daily market and other local revenue collections. She repaid the amount via checks that bounced due to insufficient funds.

Earlier, the prosecution and Belen’s legal counsel entered into a plea bargain agreement, allowing her to plead guilty to a lesser offense instead of facing trial. The Sandiganbayan approved the deal in February, and as a result, Belen pleaded guilty to the charge of failure of an accountable officer to render accounts under Article 218 of the Revised Penal Code, rather than three counts of malversation of public funds.

In 2010, the Ombudsman filed malversation charges against Belen following a complaint from Eden Rafanan, director of the Commission on Audit-Region IV. The complaint accused Belen of borrowing P277,340 from the Treasury Department’s collections. Belen had allegedly promised to repay the amount by the end of the business day but issued checks instead of cash, which bounced due to insufficient funds.

Court records revealed that Belen paid the amount in full, in cash, two months later. Despite the repayment, the Ombudsman still ordered charges against her, asserting that her actions indicated bad faith and an intent to defraud the government.

The Sandiganbayan agreed with the Ombudsman’s position, noting that Belen’s actions in taking the city’s revenue collections and returning it only after two months indicated that she had failed to timely account for the funds. The court concluded that this could constitute the crime of failure of an accountable officer to render accounts.

Rather than imposing the penalties for malversation of public funds, which include perpetual disqualification from public office and a fine equal to the amount malversed, the court imposed a fine of P18,000 on Belen. This penalty corresponds to three cases of violating Article 218 of the Revised Penal Code, which carries a maximum penalty of P6,000 per violation.