A CONTRACTUAL employee of the City Government of Davao was charged with qualified theft for stealing P300,000 worth of gift certificates.
The case was filed by the City Government against Ronald Viernes Manguera, a contract of service personnel and a member of the Team for Barangay Concerns under the City Mayor’s Office (CMO).
In a resolution obtained by SunStar from the City Prosecutor’s Office (CPO), a staff of the CMO discovered the loss of two bundles of gift certificates (GCs) amounting to P150,000 each on November 28, 2019. The GCs are intended by the city as tokens of gratitude to some beneficiaries.
In a statement the CMO said, “The incident was immediately reported to the Davao City Police Office - Investigation and Detective Management Branch (DCPO-IDMB) which conducted an investigation on the incident.”
In the course of the investigation, Manguera was seen in CCTV footage spending the stolen gift certificates at Gaisano Mall of Davao.
Manguera is said to be one of the few persons authorized to access the room where the bundles of GCs were kept.
He later admitted taking 600 pieces of GCs without permission to Davao City acting administrative officer Barbara Carla Echavia and voluntarily returned the remaining 359 pieces of unused GCs. He also voluntarily submitted himself to the police.
“A formal complaint was filed against him by the DCPO at the Office of the City Prosecutor last December 17, 2019 for qualified theft and other similar cases. Another formal complaint was also filed last December 27, 2019 against his wife Frances Desiree Manguera,” CMO said in a statement.
The resolution stated Manguera will be subjected to prision mayor of medium or maximum period. According to the Revised Penal Code, it is equivalent to eight to 12 years of imprisonment.
However, he can bail for P40,000 as recommended by the CPO.
In a statement, the CMO said they are taking measures to avoid similar incidents in the future and have committed to vetting properly the personnel they will be hiring.