THE testimony of two municipal drivers proved crucial in securing the acquittal of former Bula, Camarines Sur mayor Benjamin Decena on two criminal charges for graft and malversation of public property.
In a 36-page decision issued last March 17, the Sandiganbayan Fifth Division cited reasonable doubt in clearing Decena of criminal liability on allegations that he failed to return a government service vehicle worth P500,000 after he finished his term as mayor in June 2013.
Based on the information filed in 2018, the Office of the Ombudsman accused the former mayor of taking the vehicle for his personal use after he stepped down.
The vehicle, a 2011 Mazda Bongo with a P499,999 price tag and bearing the license plate UTI-763 was donated by former Rep. Salvio Fortuno.
Prosecutors said the vehicle failed to turn up during an inventory of the municipal government’s fleet.
Documents on the municipality’s records showed the defendant former mayor accepted the vehicle during the turnover.
But the testimonies of heavy equipment operator Edwin Monoy and municipal driver Rommel Bustarga provided clarification about the whereabouts of the vehicle.
The two said they drove the donated vehicle and it was still in the municipal motor pool but bearing the license plate UTI-963.
Both said they drove the said vehicle many times from the time it was donated to Bula, with Monoy disclosing that he has a selfie with the same vehicle showing the license plate UTI-963.
At the witness stand, Monoy produced his photo showing him driving the said vehicle.
An additional tidbit clarified the confusion: UTI-763 belonged to another Mazda vehicle which was part of the three-vehicle donation from Fortuno. and that one ended with the municipal government of Buhi, a neighbor of Bula.
Bustarga said he has also seen UTI-763, a yellow Mazda van, a few times when it brought patients to the Bicol Medical Center in Naga City when he was on a similar errand.
“Grounded on reasonable doubt, the Court holds accused Decena not criminally liable for violation of RA 3019 and malversation of public property. The prosecution failed to establish the corpus delicti to warrant a conviction,” the Sandiganbayan said.
Noting the confusion and the criminal indictment caused by the error in the records, the court issued a reminder that the former mayor could have ended up with 6 to 15 years imprisonment for graft and another 6 to 10 years for the malversation case.
Additionally, it would have meant perpetual disqualification from public office and forfeiture of the defendant’s government pension and other benefits.
