THE Commission on Audit has denied the claim of municipal officials of Tuao, Cagayan, for payment of salaries and benefits withheld after they were suspended by the Ombudsman in 2017 as part of its investigation into the Fertilizer Fund scam.
Tuao mayor William Mamba, municipal administrator Frederick Baligod, agricultural technologist Petra delos Santos, and clerk Juliana Filipina Padilla were suspended for six months by the Ombudsman and subsequently charged with graft before the Sandiganbayan in 2019.
The defendants moved to quash the information, citing inordinate delay, but were overruled by the anti-graft court.
They challenged the ruling through a petition for certiorari with the Supreme Court which ruled in their favor, ordering the Sandiganbayan resolution annulled and set aside on July 6, 2022.
Banking on the SC ruling, Mamba and the other claimants filed a petition for money claim praying for the release of their salaries and benefits amounting to P1,275,537.40 computed by the period they served during suspension.
They argued that the criminal case against them, having been dismissed on the ground of violation of their constitutional right to speedy disposition of cases, amounted to an acquittal.
However, the COA en banc disagreed, saying the petition was bereft of merit, noting that under Section 13 of the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act (RA 3019), reinstatement to office and payment of salaries and benefits are predicated on the accused being acquitted.
The COA said a dismissal on inordinate delay did not clear the petitioners of wrongdoing. At the same time, it noted that the basis for suspension was not challenged.
“In this case, the petitioners were not acquitted (or exonerated) in the criminal cases but these were dismissed upon the order of the SC for violation of their constitutional right to speedy disposition of their cases. Mere acquittal or exoneration is not enough. The petitioner must also prove that the suspension is unjustified,” the commission said.
