Sandiganbayan affirms DFA exec’s acquittal in malversation raps

In a 40-page decision released Tuesday, the anti-graft court’s Special Third Division through its chairperson Associate Justice Amparo M. Cabotaje-Tang upheld Lucena City Regional Trial Court (RTC) Branch 55 Judge Agripina R. Bravo’s decision to acquit Ana Liza Villanueva. (File Photo By Patrick Roque/Wikimedia commons, CC BY-SA 4.0)

MANILA — The Sandiganbayan acquitted a former finance officer of the Department of Foreign Affairs Regional Consular Office-Lucena (DFA-RCO-Lucena) of charges of malversation of public funds.

In a 40-page decision released Tuesday, the anti-graft court’s Special Third Division through its chairperson Associate Justice Amparo M. Cabotaje-Tang upheld Lucena City Regional Trial Court (RTC) Branch 55 Judge Agripina R. Bravo’s decision to acquit Ana Liza Villanueva.

It said, “(T)here is no (proof) showing that the prosecution’s right to due process was violated or that there was a mistrial.

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“The judgment of acquittal cannot be set aside without violating the private respondent’s constitutional right against double jeopardy,” the court said.

Associate Justices Bernelito R. Fernandez and Sarah Jane T. Fernandez concurred.

Villanueva was accused of misappropriating PHP3.71 million representing the DFA-RCO-Lucena’s daily collections for the periods between June 16, 2009 to August 15, 2009 of which she obliged to deposit promptly to the Land Bank of the Philippines.

The failure to deposit the same, however, arose following conflicting instructions to the bank made by Villanueva’s predecessor, Rico Puno, who instructed the bank not to pick up the deposits even while he was no longer the finance officer.

Villanueva, for her part, argued that there had been no misappropriation of funds because all her cash collections for the said period was reflected in cash receipt records and supporting list of collection and deposit slips which were eventually submitted to the Secretary of Foreign Affairs.