AFTER faking her death and managing to get around for half a decade under several assumed identities, fugitive Mary Ann Maslog is now finding it hard to persuade anyone of her innocence.
In a resolution dated March 5, 2025, the Sandiganbayan Second Division affirmed its decision promulgated on January 28, 2025 which convicted Maslog of violation of the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act (RA 3019) for a P24 million fraudulent transaction in 2008.
“The prosecution established that accused Maslog played a crucial role in the execution of the fraudulent scheme. The evidence clearly shows that accused Maslog was not merely a passive participant, as she actively coordinated, facilitated and benefitted from the illegal scheme,” the court declared.
Her truancy during the trial by hoodwinking the court that she had passed away in 2019 only hammered more nails to seal her fate.
“Rather than presenting a legitimate defense, she engaged in deception – assuming multiple false identities and even fabricating her own death. These acts demonstrate a calculated effort to escape legal accountability, contradicting her claim of innocence,” the Sandiganbayan stressed.
Maslog was sentenced to six to ten years imprisonment after being found guilty of conspiracy with co-accused former DECS Region 8 chief accountant Emilia Aranas and former budget and finance officer Ernesto Guiang, who were held liable for unlawfully approving the payment of P24 million to supplier Esteem Enterprises.
Prosecutors established during the trial that the procurement and delivery of textbooks and supplementary printed materials were based on falsified documents.
They showed that the supposed sub-allotment release orders (SAROs) for P10 million and P14 million were fabricated as they were denied by the Department of Budget and Management (DBM).
On November 27, 2019, Maslog’s counsel informed the court that she had passed away on November 18, 2019. The court ordered the submission of a Death Certificate from the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA).
But on September 25, 2024, the National Bureau of Investigation – Fraud and Financial Crimes Division (NBI-FFCD) arrested one Dr. Jesica Francisco in Quezon City on a complaint for fraud. The suspect turned out to be Maslog under a different name.
The NBI said that sometime in 2021, she scammed two investors to fork over P5 million and P3 million in cash, which she said would be used to start a water supply system in the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM).
To cover her con game, Maslog issued bank checks to her victims, which later turned out to be fakes.
An examination of the biometric printouts of Dr. Francisco’s right index finger led investigators to the records of wanted person Mary Ann Evanz Basa Tupa Smith, Mary Ann Evans Smith, Mary Ann Tupa Maslog-Smith, Mary Ann Evanz Basa Tupa, and Mary Ann Tupa Maslog.
It was the last name that raised red flags in connection with a 16-year-old corruption case at the Sandiganbayan.
“By choosing to evade trial rather than confront the allegations, she forfeited the opportunity to refute the evidence against her. As a result, the prosecution’s case remains unchallenged and the evidence overwhelmingly establishes her guilt,” the court added.
