FOR going on an unauthorized two-week trip Down Under, a Nueva Ecija town mayor has earned an eight-year vacation in the slammer.
The Sandiganbayan Seventh Division has convicted former Pantabangan mayor Lucio Uera of one count each of graft and malversation of public funds for drawing a P60,000 cash advance for his trip abroad in 2006 without first securing a permit from the Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG).
He was sentenced six to eight years for the graft charge and two years and four months to seven years and four months for the malversation case.
In the 66-page decision dated June 8, 2021 penned by Associate Justice Ma. Theresa Dolores C. Gomez Estoesta, the Sandiganbayan swept aside the defense contention that a travel authority from the provincial governor was sufficient compliance with the rules.
“(T)he travel order can only be given by the DILG Secretary as a delegated function from the Office of the President. The issuance of the purported travel authority from the Provincial Governor… can only be deemed as unauthorized and hence, did not prove at all that accused was given the authority to allow his foreign trip to Australia,” the court declared.
Records showed Uera joined several other provincial officials on a trip to Australia on April 8 to 18, 2006 reportedly to see a livestock show.
Government auditors said Uera used P60,000 from municipal funds for his expenses but a review of the records showed he had no proper authorization to undertake the foreign travel.
Prosecutors argued that under the Local Government Code, a local government official is required to seek permission from the Office of the President or the DILG when taking a trip overseas for a period longer than three months or if the trip involves the use of public funds.
