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SB Secretary convicted of falsification of public documents
30 September 2013, Press Release Ombudsman

            The Office of the Ombudsman successfully secured the conviction of  a Secretary to the Sangguniang Bayan (SB) of the Municipality of Medina, Misamis Oriental for falsification of public documents committed in 2006.

            In a 24-page Decision promulgated on September 26, 2013, the First Division of the Sandiganbayan pronounced Hermolando Caytuna guilty of falsification of a public document, under   Art. 171 (2) of the Revised Penal Code (RPC) and sentenced him to serve an indeterminate penaly of six months and one day of prision correccional as minimum, to six years and one day of prision mayor, as maximum, with all the necessary penalties thereto, and to pay a fine of P5,000.

            The criminal case proceeded  against  Caytuna, Mayor Sulpicio Uyguangco, former Vice-Mayor Marlene Limbaco, and Sangguniang Bayan (SB) Members Oscar Tabamo, Martha Faye Uyguangco, and Victricio Cabana, for allegedly falsifying documents to make it appear that the SB-Medina passed an Ordinance approving the 2006 annual budget of the said municipality.

            The case against Sulpicio Uyguangco was dismissed, however, on account of his death on 25 February 2010 while the other respondents were acquitted for failure of the prosecution to prove their guilt beyond reasonable doubt.

            The Decision narrated that the SB passed on January 09, 2006 an ordinance for the 2006 annual budget of the municipality but Mayor Uyguangco vetoed certain items in the budget. After the SB failed to muster the required 2/3 vote to override the said veto, the veto was upheld and a motion was made to refer the annual budget to the Committee on Appropriations.

            However, another ordinance was forwarded to the Sangguniang Panlalawigan (SP) of Misamis Oriental for approval with an attached document titled “Excerpts from the Minutes Discussed during the Regular Session of the Municipal Council of the Medina, Misamis Oriental Held on March 27, 2006,” which indicated that Ordinance No. 478-2006  was passed by the SB. Hence, the SP  issued a Resolution approving the annual budget of the Municipality of Medina purportedly embodied in Ordinance No. 478-2006.

            Subsequently, the SB petitioned the SP to recall the latter’s resolution which approved the allegedly spurious SB ordinance.

            The anti-graft court stated that since Exhibit “E” is an excerpt from the minutes of the SB-Medina regular session held on March 27, 2006, “it should have been lifted or extracted from the minutes of the March 27, 2006 session of SB-Medina, specifically Exhibit ‘F’. Yet, a scrutiny of Exhibit ‘F’ would reveal that no portion of said minutes makes reference to any 2006 budget being passed or approved.”

            It said “the existence of Caytuna’s criminal intent is presumed from the commission of the unlawful act of falsifying a public document. Accused Caytuna was not able to present rebuttal evidence to overturn this presumption.”

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