THE Sandiganbayan has affirmed the November 10, 2020 decision of the Quezon City Regional Trial Court Branch 80 that convicted an official of the city’s Housing and Urban Renewal Authority (HURA) for violation of the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act.
In its 18-page decision promulgated last September 30, the Fourth Division of the Sandiganbayan sustained the pronouncement of the QC RTC that accused Romualdo Santos, an engineer of the QC-HURA, was guilty of asking and receiving cash totaling P100,000 from an applicant for a building permit.
According to the information, Santos assured applicant Edgardo Orencia that he could secure a building permit for the latter’s planned three-door residential structure in exchange for P120,000.
After some haggling, both parties settled for P100,000.
Orencia paid the first installment of P70,000 on November 7, 2012. Confident that the permit would be issued shortly, he proceeded to start construction the following day.
In December 2012, Orencia said he met Santos at a restaurant behind the City Hall to deliver the balance of P30,000. The city official assured him he would be issued an Order of Payment before the year’s end, which will be followed by the issuance of a Building Permit.
When no permit was issued, the complainant tried to contact Santos but the latter reportedly avoided him.
On June 26, 2013, he received a Cease-and-Desist Order issued by the QC Building Official due to the absence of a Building Permit, leaving him no choice but to halt construction and personally apply for one.
He then filed a complaint against Santos before the Office of the Ombudsman, resulting in the filing of a graft charge against the accused on September 30, 2015.
In the assailed decision, the QC RTC sentenced Santos to six to eight years imprisonment with perpetual disqualification from holding public office and required him to repay P30,000 to Orencia.
Seeking reversal of his conviction, the defendant argued that the evidence presented did not amount to proof beyond reasonable doubt.
The Sandiganbayan disagreed.
“The documentary and testimonial evidence clearly establish that accused appellant Santos undertook to secure a building permit for private complainant Orencia in consideration of the amount of P120,000, which was later reduced to P100,000,” the anti-graft court said.
It added that there was proof that the payment request was premised on the promised assistance to secure a building permit for the complainant.
“It is well-settled that when it comes to the issue of the credibility of the prosecution witnesses, the findings of the trial courts carry great weight and respect and, generally, the appellate courts will not overturn the said findings unless the trial court overlooked, misunderstood or misapplied some facts or circumstances of weight and substance which will alter the Assailed Decision or affect the result of the case,” the Sandiganbayan added.
