THE Sandiganbayan Third Division has turned down the request of a former National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) regional director to be allowed to render community service rather than serve a six-month jail term after being convicted of sexual harassment on a complaint by a female staff.
In its 13-page resolution, the anti-graft court held that Jose Romeo Escandor’s motion cannot be granted for being defective as parts of it are not compliant with the requirements of RA 11362 or the Community Service Act.
However, the court said the denial of the accused’s motion does not preclude him from filing another application that adheres to the law and the Guidelines in the Imposition of Community Service as a Penalty in lieu of imprisonment.
The resolution was penned by Presiding Justice Amparo M. Cabotaje-Tang, with Associate Justices Bernelito R. Fernandez and Ronald B. Moreno concurring.
Escandor was found guilty in 2013 of abusing his position as NEDA Region 7 regional director and forcing his amorous attention on the victim, who is married. He was sentenced to six years imprisonment with a P20,000 fine.
The victim accused the former NEDA official of touching her thigh, kissing and embracing her, staring at her breasts, sending her love notes on her computer and sexually suggestive text messages on her mobile phone, ultimately forcing her to resign in 2003.
While Escandor claimed the filing of the case was a mere retaliatory move after he scolded the complainant and filed administrative cases against her husband, the court found the complainant’s testimony more believable after it was corroborated by other NEDA personnel who also testified for the prosecution.
Escandor sought a reversal of the decision but lost his appeals before the Sandiganbayan in 2014 and the Supreme Court in 2021.
In his motion filed last July 14, Escandor asked to be allowed to render community service at his own barangay in Cebu City rather than in Barangay Lahug, where NEDA Region 7 has an office which is two hours away by jeep.
He explained that he is already 70 years old, living alone, and needs to take his maintenance medication three times a day at home for various health problems.
The Sandiganbayan said the law requires that the community service should be at the “place where the crime was committed” and not where the accused resides.
Likewise, it pointed out that the proposed program should have been prepared by the barangay chairman of Barangay Lahug, must include rehabilitative counseling, and supported by an attestation that the defendant has not previously availed of community service for a different offense.
“This denial is without prejudice to the filing of an appropriate application by accused Escandor to render community service which is compliant with the Community Service Act,” the court said.
Escandor was also convicted of a second sexual harassment case in 2015 on a complaint filed by a female Economic Development Specialist for which he was meted a P20,000 fine without a prison term.
