THE Sandiganbayan Fourth Division has affirmed the conviction of former Basey, Samar municipal treasurer Marieta Hernandez for malversation of public funds by the Basey Regional Trial Court Branch 30.
In its decision issued last May 13, the anti-graft court swept aside the defendant’s argument that she was denied due process due to the trial that lasted more than 17 years and that the testimonies against her were all hearsay.
The Sandiganbayan, however, modified the 17 to 20 years jail term imposed by the RTC and reduced it to 8 to 14 years imprisonment with the accessory penalty of perpetual disqualification from holding another public office.
She was likewise fined P1,766,640.33, equivalent to the shortage of cash in her custody, and further ordered to refund the same amount to the municipal government’s coffers.
Records showed that the case, filed on April 12, 2000, alleged that Hernandez misappropriated the P1.766 million public funds when she failed to produce the money despite official demand for her to do so.
State auditor May Labajosa of the Commission on Audit, the lone witness presented by the prosecution, testified that her team found a cash shortage in Hernandez’s accounts during a cash examination in 1998.
While a demand letter was sent to the accused to return the cash shortage, she was unable to do so. She also did not submit any explanation as to how the shortage happened.
In her appeal, Hernandez said the entire proceedings before the RTC took 17 years and seven months, which was even longer than the minimum period of the sentence imposed against her.
The Sandiganbayan was unimpressed, noting that the case records bear out that much of the delays were attributable to the accused and her lawyers as they asked and were granted 46 postponements of hearings compared to just 16 for the prosecution.
On any of the instances when the prosecution asked for deferment of proceedings, neither the defendant nor her counsel raised any objection.
“The claim that the accused-appellant’s right to a speedy trial was violated appears to be an attempt to evade criminal liability. Hernandez’s failure to assert the alleged violation of her right to a speedy trial amounts to a waiver of that right,” the court said.
