THE Sandiganbayan has convicted Pangasinan provincial assessor Nestor Quiambao of the crime of Omission of Property from Assessment or Tax Rolls defined and penalized under Section 517, Book 4 of the Local Government Code over the illegal issuance of a tax declaration on a property despite deficient supporting documents.
In a decision dated February 7, 2025, the anti-graft court’s Third Division ordered the accused to pay P5,000 in fine without any jail term after he pled guilty to the lesser offense instead of facing a full-blown trial on a graft charge.
Quiambao was indicted by the Office of the Ombudsman on a crime of violation of the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act in 2022 for taking advantage of his position as provincial assessor of Pangasinan to give advantage to a certain Melita Montemayor-Belecina by approving Tax Declaration No. 25369 in her favor even if the documents submitted were incomplete.
Prosecutors said the documents on record were insufficient to make a proper appraisal of the property and should have prompted the defendant to order a more thorough investigation. Instead, Quiambao went ahead and approved the tax declaration.
The accused had originally entered a not-guilty plea during his arraignment on December 1, 2023.
However, on July 29, 2024, the defendant and the prosecution signed a plea-bargaining agreement that was approved by the Sandiganbayan on October 30, 2024.
Under the agreement, Quiambao was permitted to withdraw his not-guilty plea on the graft case and turn in a guilty plea on the lesser offense of Omission of Property from Assessment or Tax Rolls by Officers.
In 2018, Quiambao was also charged by the Ombudsman with a similar offense about the alleged anomalous cancellation of a residential land’s tax declaration in the names of spouses Rodolfo and Veronica Javier of Bugallon, Pangasinan without due notice.
Such notice is a procedural requirement under Section 223 of R.A. 7160 and the 2006 Manual on Real Property Appraisal and Assessment Operation.
The prosecution said the property was reclassified from residential to un-irrigated rice land but after the title was transferred to a new owner, it was reverted to residential.
Because of this, the property’s market value soared from P32,300 to P605,700 to the benefit of the new owner.
There is no record that the older case has been resolved by the Sandiganbayan.