Sandiganbayan affirms acquittal of former Quedancor exec

MANILA, Philippine — The anti-graft court Sandiganbayan has affirmed the acquittal of an official of a state owned firm for misdeclaring assets.

 

In a 30-page decision dated December 8, 2017, the court's Seventh Division dismissed the petition for certiorari of the Office of the Ombudsman assailing the decision of Presiding Judge Luis Zenon Maceren of Quezon City Regional Trial Court Branch 218 acquitting Quedan and Rural Credit Guarantee Corp. acting senior vice president Michael Millares of ten counts of falsification of public documents under the Revised Penal Code.

 

The cases stemmed from Maceren's alleged failure to declare in his SALNs for years 1997 to 2006 his and his wife's business interests and financial connections with several companies including New Haven Lending Investor, Inc., Westfront Pharma Inc., Precious Pages Corporation, First Alliance Money Changers Inc., First Alliance Marketing Managers, Inc., Peñafrancia Realty Inc., Filbird Agri Services and Trading Corporation, Blooming Fields Management Consultancy Services, Inc. and Millares Samar Esteban Dinglasan Besino Alug.

 

The Seventh Division sided with Maceran's position in his November 16, 2016 ruling that the prosecution failed to prove beyond reasonable doubt the “absolute falsity” of Millares' SALNs.

 

“Public respondent (Maceren) correctly ruled that the third element of the offense – absolute falsity of facts narrated by the offender – was not sufficiently shown by petitioner,” the Seventh Division's ruling read.

 

“Indeed, Millares' non-disclosure of the fact that he was incorporator of various companies was well-explained in the counter-affidavit which he filed with the Ombudsman,” it added.

 

The decision was penned by Associate Justice Zaldy Trespeses with the concurrence of Associate Justices Ma. Theresa Dolores Gomez-Estoesta and Bayani Jacinto.

In his counter-affidavit, Millares explained that he did not declare that his wife Carmen was an incorporator of New Haven Lending Investor, Inc. as she supposedly did not receive anything from her appointment until she was eventually removed by the board three years after the firm's incorporation.

 

Millares further explained that he did not declare his connections with the other companies mentioned in the ombudsman's charge sheets as he was just appointed as honorary incorporator by some close friends without truly paying any capital contributions.

 

Millares said these companies were no longer in operation in the years he supposedly failed to the declare them in his SALNs.

 

“Taking all these into consideration, we find that Millares adequately explained his responses to the subject SALNs' directive for the disclosure of business interest and financial connections,” the court said.

 

The Seventh Division also noted that the ombudsman, in its investigation report, even concluded that “no sufficient evidence exists to support the allegation that Millares amassed wealth which was manifestly disproportionate to his legitimate income.”

 

“The Court has once emphasized that a mere misdeclaration in the SALN does not automatically amount to dishonesty... It should be understood that the laws on SALN aim to curtail the acquisition of unexplained wealth. Where the source of the undisclosed wealth can be properly accounted for, then it is 'explained wealth' which the law does not penalize,” the Seventh Division said quoting a previous Supreme Court ruling.

 

Duterte ordered the abolition of Quedancor in January 2017 citing the state firm's operational losses in the last five years and its overlapping functions with other government agencies.

 

Quedancor was a government-owned and controlled corporation which used to extend loans to farmers, hog-raisers and agricultural organizations in the countrysides.

 

The firm figured into controversies in connection with the multibillion-peso “swine scam”.