EN BANC

[G.R. No. 95604. April 29, 1994.]

LUCIANO KIMPO y NIANUEVO, petitioner, v s . THE

SANDIGANBAYAN AND PEOPLE OF THE PHILIPPINES,
respondents.

DECISION

VITUG, J :
p

Petitioner Luciano Kimpo y Nianuevo, a Special Collecting Ocer of the Bureau of

Domestic Trade at General Santos City, was found guilty beyond reasonable doubt
by the Sandiganbayan of malversation of public funds. He appealed to this Court. LLjur

The case was initiated by Special Prosecution Ocer Mothalib C. Onos who, on 29
March 1989, led with the Sandiganbayan an information charging petitioner with
having committed the following offense:

"That on or about April 30, 1985 and/or sometime prior thereto, in General
Santos city, and within the jurisdiction of this Honorable Court, accused
Luciano Kimpo, a public ocer, being the Special Collecting Ocer, Bureau
of Domestic Trade, General Santos City, and as such is an accountable
ocer responsible for the funds collected by him by reason of the duties of
his oce, did then and there wilfully, unlawfully and feloniously, with grave
abuse of condence, appropriate, embezzle and convert to his personal use
and benet the sum of Fifteen Thousand Three Hundred Nine Pesos
(P15,309.00), which amount constitutes his collection, to the damage and
prejudice of the Government in the aforesaid amount. prcd

"Contrary to law."

When arraigned, petitioner, assisted by counsel, 1 pleaded, "not guilty."

At the pre-trial inquest conducted by the Sandiganbayan, the following exhibits

were admitted:

"1. Exhibits A and A-1, as well as the fact that they are faithful
reproductions of the originals. In connection therewith, the accused
admitted that he was on or before April 30, 1985, Special Collecting Ocer,
Bureau of Trade, General Santos City;

"2. That an audit-examination of the cash and accounts of the accused

was conducted on April 30, 1985; that the corresponding Report of
 Examination (Exhibit B), Statement of Accountability for Accountable Forms
without Money Value (Exhibit B-1), and Reconciliation Statement of
Accountability (Exhibit B-3) were made and signed, and that the signatures
appearing on the dorsal side of Exhibits B and B-1 are those of the accused,
all these admissions being subject to the qualication that the accused is
questioning the validity of the audit examination and the accuracy of the
results thereof on constitutional grounds;

"3. The existence of Exhibits C, E, F, M and M-1, including the fact that
they are faithful copies of the originals, subject to the same qualication
made with respect to Exhibits B, B-1 and B-2;

"4. The existence of Exhibits D and D-1, including the fact that they are
correct copies of the originals, but not their relevance;

"5. Exhibit H as the Ocial Cash Book of the accused and his signatures
appearing between the entries therein beginning August 1, 1984 and up to
April 31, 1985, with the qualication that the said entries were not made by
him;

"6. The existence of Exhibits I, I-1 to I- 40, J, J-1 to J-95, K, K-1 to K-26,
and L, L-1 to L-44 (carbon copies of ocial receipts) and his signatures
thereon, subject to the qualication that the entries therein were not made
by him;

"7. Exhibit N, subject to the qualication that the data mentioned therein
were based on the results of the audit examination, the validity and accuracy
of which are questioned; LLphil

"8. Exhibits A1-1, N2-2, T2-1, L3-1, F4-2, A5, L7, N7-1, U7-2, B8-1, C8,
D8, E8, G8, G8, H8, M8-2, Y8-2 AND Y8-2 AND Y8-3 (xerox copies of ocial
receipts), including the fact that they are faithful reproductions of the
originals;

"9. Exhibits J8 to O8, as well as the signatures appearing on the last

page of each exhibit and the fact that they are true copies of the originals."

The testimonial evidence consisted of the testimonies of Lydia Mendoza, State Audit
Examiner of the Commission on Audit, for the prosecution, and of Milda de la Pea,
Trade and Industry Analyst of the Department of Trade and Industry at its South
Cotabato Provincial Oce, as well as that of petitioner Kimpo himself, for the
defense.cdphil

From all the evidence adduced, the Sandiganbayan concluded, thus:

"Accused herein having admitted his public position as alleged in the

information and the existence of a shortage of P15,309.00 upon audit
examination of his accountabilities, then what remains to be resolved only is
whether any criminal liability is attributable to him by reason of such
shortage. As can be deduced from the defense evidence, testimonial and
documentary, accused lays the blame for the shortage on one Yvette
Samaranos, whom he admitted to have been retained by him as his unofficial
clerk/collector in his oce and who attended to the receipt of payments for
the registration of business names and issuance of certications and ocial
receipts for such payments, including penalties, and fees for repair shop
establishments. While the certications and ocial receipts were pre-signed
by him, the collections thereunder were made by Samaranos, who also
entered the amounts collected by her in accused's cashbook. llcd

"The amounts collected between the period from July 17, 1984 to April 30,
1985 totalled P100,486.50, from which should be deducted total
remittances of P85,177.50, leaving a balance of P16,221.50. An Inventory of
Cash and/or allowed Cash Items produced P912.50, leaving a shortage of
P15,309.00 which was determined by Auditor Lydia R. Mendoza as the
dierence between the amounts appearing in the originals of the Ocial
Receipts/Letter of Conrmation and the duplicate Ocial Receipts. In other
words, what were collected and reected in the duplicate ORs were not the
correct amounts appearing in the original ORs issued to the payees and
which were verified and confirmed later by the payees.

"Auditor Mendoza supported her ndings of a shortage and the reasons for
such shortage thru a formal 'Comparison of Duplicate Ocial Receipts of
P2.00 per Report of Collections with the Conrmation Letter and/or Original
Ocial Receipts' for the period from July 17, 1984 to April 30, 1985. Therein,
it clearly appeared that while the amounts to be ocially collected should be
P110.00 or P112.00, the amounts reported to have been collected and
which were reected in the duplicate ORs were only P2.00. The unreported
and unrecorded collections of P108.00 or P110.00 from individual payees
were reected in the original ORs which were conrmed by said payees
through confirmation letters and which totalled P15,309.00.

"After the cash count made by Auditor Mendoza as a prelude to her Report
of Examination and subsequent verication/conrmation, she sent a letter of
demand to the accused on October 14, 1985, which the accused received
on the same date. Therein, he was required to produce immediately the
balance of P3,418.50, due to the fact that he had made deposits amounting
to P11,890.50, 'after cash count and conrmed by us (Please see Scheduled
2).' On October 17, 1985, accused submitted his letter-explanation to
Auditor Mendoza wherein he laid the blame for the shortage on his oce
clerk whom he had already relieved and alleged that he had not beneted,
directly or indirectly, from the missing funds. On October 18, 1985 and
November 7, 1985, accused 'restituted and deposited with the Bureau of
Treasury thru PNB, GSC' the amounts of P2,933.50 and P485.00,
respectively, which, if added to his previous deposits from June 2, 1985 to
August 23, 1985 prcd

"There being no dispute, therefore, as to the existence of the shortage in

the accounts of the accused, as found by Auditor Mendoza as of April 30,
1985, amounting to P15,309.00 and the fact of accused's settlement for
such shortage through installments deposited with the PNB, General Santos
City between June 2, 1985 to November 7, 1985, then it behooves the Court
to determine if accused herein had rendered himself liable or not under
Article 217 of the Revised Penal Code by reason of such shortage. Such
determination must perforce go into the merits of his claim that the
responsibility for such shortage should be laid on the doorstep of Yvette
Samaranos, a private individual, whom he inherited from his predecessor
who had allowed her to work in the oce as clerk-collector and whom he
retained for the following reasons: (1) the Oce of the Bureau of Domestic
Trade at General Santos City, of which he was the Provincial Trade
Development Ocer, was a one-man operation, hence, understaed; (2) he
had to go out to the eld to campaign for increased registration of business
names, hold symposiums of consumers' groups, conduct meetings for
retailers and consumers and repair shop establishments; (3) he occasionally
goes out to attend raes conducted by private establishments as
representative of the Bureau of Domestic Trade; and (4) he had to leave
someone in the oce to attend to the general public in the registration
and/or renewal of business names and the issuance of certications and
ocial receipts for the collection of the proper fees. For the reason that he
was out in the eld for days at times, he pre-signed ocial receipts in blank,
as well as certications, which he entrusted to Samaranos who then lls up
the said receipts and certications and makes the corresponding entries in
his cashbook. As it turned out, however, Samaranos collected the proper
ocial fees, issued the original receipts with the proper amounts, lled up
the duplicates thereof with reduced amounts, made the corresponding
entries in the cashbook based on the amounts reected in the duplicates
and made the proper remittances based on the improper entries. prLL

"Accused's defense cannot be accepted, nor can it absolve him from

criminal liability for the missing public funds which the audit examination on
his accountabilities as of April 30, 1985 had revealed. As Special Disbursing
Ocer, he was the primary accountable ocer for such funds and the fact,
which was not denitely or conclusively established by his evidence, that
another person, albeit a private individual, was responsible for the
misappropriation thereof, cannot be considered in exculpation or justification
of such primary accountability.

"xxx xxx xxx

"Consequently, accused herein cannot blame anyone else for the

predicament that he found himself in. First of all, he should not have allowed
Yvette Samaranos, who did not possess any appointment, to perform official
acts which he was ordained to do. Secondly, since the collection of ocial
fees was a sensitive area, he should have refrained from pre-signing ocial
receipts and certications. Thirdly, if he were that desirous of rendering
conscientious public service, he should have ensured that the collection of
ocial fees was properly made, recorded and remitted. Fourthly, his
admission that he had to pay the salaries of Samaranos through honoraria
received by him from raes is fatal to his cause since he should have
realized that, under such circumstance, Samaranos would be subject to the
most severe temptation to fool around with the agency's collections.
Apparently, accused was more interested in conducting field trips and raffles
 whereby he would be able to collect per diems, travelling allowances and
honoraria from private rms. To allow public accountable ocers to adopt
the practice resorted to by the accused in allowing private individuals to
perform public functions would lead to chaos and anarchy and would render
nugatory all applicable norms of public trust and accountability. His bare and
unsupported claim that, after discovery of the shortage upon audit
examination, he took steps to charge Yvette Samaranos for Estafa Thru
Falsication of Public Documents does not, in any way, erase his criminal
liability which could be characterized as malversation of Public Funds
through negligence. In his case, such negligence may be described as gross
and inexcusable, amounting to a denite laxity resulting in the deliberate
non-performance of his duties." LLpr

On the basis of the above ndings, judgment was rendered by the

Sandiganbayan convicting petitioner Kimpo and sentencing him, accordingly:

"WHEREFORE, judgment is hereby rendered nding accused Luciano Kimpo

y Nianuevo GUILTY beyond reasonable doubt of the oense of
Malversation of Public Funds, as dened and penalized under Article 217,
paragraph 4 of the Revised Penal Code, and favorably appreciating the
mitigating circumstances of voluntary surrender and full restitution, after
applying the Indeterminate Sentence Law, hereby sentences him to suer
an indeterminate penalty ranging from SEVEN (7) YEARS, FOUR (4) MONTHS
and ONE (1) DAY of prision mayor as the minimum, to ELEVEN (11) YEARS,
SIX (6) MONTHS and TWENTY-ONE (21) DAYS, likewise of prision mayor as
the maximum; to further suer perpetual special disqualication; to pay a
ne of P15,309.00 equal to the amount malversed and to pay the costs of
this action. No civil liability is awarded in view of the full restitution of the
amount involved.

"SO ORDERED."

In this appeal, petitioner submitted the following assignment of errors: That

"I

"THE RESPONDENT COURT ERRED IN LAW WHEN IT CONSIDERED

EXHIBITS B TO B-3 AGAINST THE ACCUSED OVER ACCUSED'S OBJECTIONS
ANCHORED ON ARTICLE III, SECTIONS 12 & 17 OF THE 1987
CONSTITUTION. Cdpr

"II

"THE RESPONDENT COURT ERRED IN LAW WHEN IT CONSIDERED OVER

PETITIONER'S OBJECTIONS ALLEGED CONFIRMATION LETTERS NOT
SIGNED OR NOT PROPERLY IDENTIFIED, AS EVIDENCE TO PROVE ALLEGED
SHORTAGE.

"III

"THE RESPONDENT COURT ERRED IN LAW WHEN IT RULED THAT ACCUSED

 IS PRESUMED TO HAVE MALVERSED P15,309.00 BECAUSE HE FAILED TO
HAVE THE AMOUNT FORTHCOMING UPON DEMAND.

"IV

"THE RESPONDENT COURT ERRED IN LAW IN HOLDING ACCUSED LIABLE

FOR MALVERSATION OF PUBLIC FUNDS THROUGH NEGLIGENCE."

The appeal has no merit.

Petitioner faults the Sandiganbayan for having considered Exhibits "B" to "B-3,"
inclusive, despite what he claims to be an impairment of his constitutional rights
under Article III, Section 12 paragraphs (1) and (3), and Section 17, 2 of the 1987
Constitution. We cannot agree. The questioned exhibits pertain to the Report of
Examination, the Statement of Accountability for Accountable Forms without
Money Value, and a Reconciliation Statement of Accountability, which are ocial
forms prepared and accomplished in the normal course of audit regularly conducted
by the Commission on Audit. Petitioner, not being at the time under investigation
for the commission of a criminal oense, let alone under custodial investigation,
clearly cannot be said to have been deprived of the constitutional prerogatives he
invokes ( Villaroza vs. Sandiganbayan, G.R. No. 79636, 17 December 1987; People
vs. Olivares, 186 SCRA 536). LexLib

On the so-called confirmatory letters, respondent court concluded thus

"III. The Letters of Conrmation (Exhibits Z to II, JJ to SS, TT to GGG,

HHH to WWW, XXX to ZZZZ, AAAA to JJJJJ, KKKKK to KKKKKKK to JJJJJJJJ and
JJJJJJJJ) were not the primary evidence presented by the prosecution to prove
the manipulations and irregularities in question but the originals and
duplicates of the Ocial Receipts (Exhibits L to I-40, J to J-95, K to K-26 and
L to L-44), all of which were admittedly signed by the accused, wherein it
could clearly be seen that payments for P110.00 were reected as P2.00
only. Thus, the Letters of Conrmation are only secondary evidence to
support and prove the principal facts in issue. Accused had not, REPEAT,
had not, denied that the above-mentioned ocial receipts, originals and
duplicates, are genuine and correctly reect the amounts which appear to
be listed therein."

Hardly can the above ndings be validly challenged. Indeed, considering all the
evidence on record, there is not much that the questioned letters could have lent
to augment the case for the prosecution.

Petitioner has been charged with having violated Article 217 of the Revised Penal
Code, which, in full, reads:

"ART. 217. Malversation of public funds or property. Presumption of

malversation. Any public ocer who, by reason of the duties of his oce,
is accountable for public funds or property, shall appropriate the same, or
shall take or misappropriate or shall consent, or through abandonment or
negligence, shall permit any other person to take such public funds or
 property, wholly or partially, or shall otherwise be guilty the misappropriation
or malversation of such funds or property shall suffer: cdrep

"1. The penalty of prision correccional in its medium and maximum

periods, if the amount involved in the misappropriation or malversation does
not exceed two hundred pesos.

"2. The penalty of prision mayor in its minimum and medium periods, if
the amount involved is more than two hundred pesos but does not exceed
six thousand pesos.

"3. The penalty of prision mayor in its maximum period to reclusion

temporal in its minimum period, if the amount involved is more than six
thousand pesos but is less than twelve thousand pesos.

"4. The penalty of reclusion temporal in its medium and maximum

periods, if the amount involved is more than twelve thousand pesos but is
less than twenty-two thousand pesos. If the amount exceeds the latter, the
penalty shall be reclusion temporal in its maximum period to reclusion
perpetua. LLjur

"In all cases, persons guilty of malversation shall also suer the penalty of
perpetual special disqualication and a ne equal to the amount of the funds
malversed or equal to the total value of the property embezzled.

"The failure of a public ocer to have duly forthcoming any public funds or
property with which he is chargeable, upon demand by any duly authorized
ocer, shall be prima facie evidence that he has put such missing funds or
property to personal use."

The validity and constitutionality of the presumption of evidence provided in the

above Article, which petitioner questions, has long been settled armatively in a
number of cases heretofore decided by this Court; 3 that point need not again be
belabored.

Even while an information charges willful malversation, conviction for malversation

through negligence may, nevertheless, be adjudged as the evidence so yields.
Malversation, unlike other felonies punished under the Revised Penal Code, is
consummated, and the same penalty is imposed, regardless of whether the mode of
commission is with intent or due to negligence. 4

Petitioner argues that the restitution made by him of the full amount should
exonerate him from criminal liability. The argument not only is an inappropriate
defense in criminal cases but it also even at times tightens a nding of guilt. In
malversation of public funds, payment, indemnication, or reimbursement of funds
misappropriated, after the commission of the crime, does not extinguish the
criminal liability of the oender which, at most, can merely aect the accused's civil
liability thereunder 5 and be considered a mitigating circumstance being analogous
to voluntary surrender. 6

WHEREFORE, the petition is DISMISSED, and the appealed decision of respondent

Sandiganbayan is AFFIRMED in toto. LibLex

SO ORDERED.

Narvasa, C.J., Cruz, Feliciano, Padilla, Bidin, Regalado, Davide, Jr., Romero, Bellosillo,
Melo, Quiason, Puno, Vitug and Kapunan, JJ., concur.

Footnotes

1. Atty. Samuel Occea.

2. Sec. 12. (1) Any person under investigation for the commission of an oense
shall have the right to be informed of his right to remain silent and to have
competent and independent counsel preferably of his own choice. If the person
cannot aord the services of counsel, he must be provided with one. These
rights cannot be waived except in writing and in the presence of counsel.

xxx xxx xxx

(3) Any confession or admission obtained in violation of this or Section 17

hereof shall be inadmissible in evidence against him.

xxx xxx xxx

Sec. 17. No person shall be compelled to be a witness against himself.

3. Bacasnot vs. Sandiganbayan, 155 SCRA 379; Albores vs. Court of Appeals , 132
SCRA 604; People vs. Livara, 94 Phil. 771; People vs. Mingoa, 92 Phil. 856.

4. Cabello vs. Sandiganbayan, 197 SCRA 94.

5. Felicilda vs. Grospe, 211 SCRA 285; People vs. Miranda, 2 SCRA 262.

6. El Pueblo de Filipinas vs. Velasquez , 72 Phil. 98.