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Tuesday, January 17, 2006
RTC judge clears ex-Sambag 1 chief
The Regional Trial Court (RTC) has cleared a former Cebu City barangay official charged for running off with government funds and losing a government-owned walkie-talkie.
RTC Judge Eric Menchavez, in an 11-page ruling, found insufficient the prosecution’s evidence against former Sambag 1 barangay captain Hever Buot and another accused in the charge that stemmed from a Commission on Audit (COA) inquiry.
“In a criminal case, the burden is on the prosecution to prove beyond reasonable doubt the essential elements of the offense with which the accused is charged, and if the proof fails to establish any of the essential elements necessary to constitute a crime, the defendant is entitled to an acquittal,” Menchavez said.
Buot and co-accused Eberth Desierto had been convicted of the same case in February 2002 by then judge Aproniano Taypin, now retired.
Menchavez heard the case again after granting Buot’s motion for reconsideration last Oct. 7, 2005, or three years and eight months after the conviction.
Menchavez ruled in favor of Buot after the Office of the Cebu City Prosecutor, which handled the prosecution of the case in 2002, failed to submit its memorandum on how the conviction should be upheld.
According to Menchavez, Buot and Desierto cannot be held for the malversation of government funds, amounting to P45,952.00, because the prosecution failed to prove that the money allegedly misused indeed belonged to the government.
While the money allegedly constituted the fees charged by the barangay for services such as the issuance of certificates and clearances, the payments weren’t covered by official receipts.
For Bisaya stories from Cebu. Click here. (January 17, 2006 issue)
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