CA clears Ubay, Bohol treasurer of administrative liability
November 4, 2001 - Bohol Sunday Post
UBAY - RETIRED municipal treasurer Brigido Paredes will leave his post with a clean slate, and receive all the benefits due him.
This after the Court of Appeals reversed an earlier ruling of the Office of the Ombudsman finding Paredes guilty of misconduct and ordering the latter dismissed from government service with all benefits due him forfeited.
Lawyer Lord Marapao represented Paredes in both the administrative case before the anti-graft office and the petition for review before the appellate court.
A decision promulgated by the Court of Appeals on October 22, 2001, found no evidence to support the earlier complaint of Bernardino Teloron that Paredes, unlawfully encashed seven checks and deposited these to his own account.
Teloron, through Lava Marketing and Construction Supply, is a regular supplier of construction materials to the Ubay municipal government.
In a complaint filed before the anti-graft office, Teloren alleged that although the local government paid out seven checks, all amounting to P146,577.16, to Lava Marketing, he never received such.
Teloren received the checks in question, as proven by his signatures on the disbursement vouchers, Paredes claimed during the investigation.
He also said that in several instances, Teloren's representatives would ask him to encash the checks paid out by the local government.
In the case of the seven checks that Paredes purportedly endorsed and deposited to his account, Teloren's late brother, Constantino, signed the first endorsement.
After reviewing the case, the appellate court, found that the anti-graft office conveniently overlooked or ignored matters of substance in the course of finding Paredes guilty of the allegations made by Teloren.
The court ruled that the disbursement voucher, which he himself signed, proved that Teloren received the payment checks.
This bolsters Paredes' argument that Teloren's had constructive possession and control over the checks when the former encashed it.
At the same time, Teloren failed to show how the checks could have been taken from his possession and control after he signed the disbursement vouchers for its release.
Paredes retired on October 8, 2001 when he turned 61 years old. Former municipal accountant Diocesito Butalon is the acting municipal treasurer.
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