FORMER San Antonio, Zambales mayor Romeo Lonzanida has been convicted by the Sandiganbayan of failure by an accountable officer to render accounts in the absence of any explanation for the P275,000 released to him in 2009 as cash advance of intelligence funds.
During arraignment last June 10 before the anti-graft court’s Second Division, the defendant pleaded guilty to the charge that he failed to liquidate the sum placed under his care as an accountable officer.
The procedure was done through partial videoconferencing as Lonzanida is already serving time at the National Bilibid Prison (NBP) for another crime.
Based on information filed by the Office of the Ombudsman on March 19, 2018, non-liquidation of cash advances at the end of the year is a violation of Commission on Audit Circular No. 97-002, and it caused damage and prejudice to the government.
According to records, Lonzanida drew the cash advance on Dec. 17, 2009 while sitting as municipal mayor. He ran in the 2010 elections and received the highest number of votes but was subsequently disqualified due to a prior conviction by the Sandiganbayan for falsification charges.
