Ex-mayor in Leyte gets prison term of 2 to 6 years for malversation

The Sandiganbayan has convicted Alfredo Lloren, former mayor of Inopacan, Leyte, of malversation over the payment of P380,000 for a backhoe that was not delivered in 2003.

In a 51-page decision dated Nov. 17, the court’s Special Third Division sentenced Lloren and two others to imprisonment of two years and four months to six years.

Convicted with Lloren were municipal accountant Sergio Morata and treasurer Eriberta Palo.

Aside from imprisonment, the three were also meted out a lifetime ban from public office.

Besides being ordered to return the P380,000 to the municipal government with an interest of 6-percent per annum, the court also imposed an additional P380,000 fine on the accused.

The three were acquitted of violation of Section 3(e) of the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act, which could have led to a longer imprisonment of six to 10 years.

Prosecutors alleged that in 2003, the three released the payment for one Komatsu PC-100 Crawler Backhoe to Rodulfo Garido, who turned out not to be an authorized representative of Eufricina Trading.

Lloren would later sue Garido and his wife Norma for estafa in 2005.

Yet, the backhoe still had not been delivered by the time of the mayor’s own trial in 2014.

The Sandiganbayan said Lloren’s own evidence showed he was aware that the backhoe had not been delivered when he approved the disbursement voucher.

The court added the mayor should have known that the Local Government Code prohibited advance payments.

The court rejected his claim of good faith, as he had been “negligent in approving the payment to Eufricinia Trading despite non-delivery.”

Morata, meanwhile, was faulted for certifying the completeness of the supporting documents despite them having many unfilled blanks. Likewise, the court said Palo did not bother to check the attachments of the disbursement voucher.

“Whether the accused acted deliberately or through negligence, the fact remains that they caused the release of the funds,” read the decision.

But their negligence was not found to reach the standard of “gross inexcusable negligence” to justify their conviction for graft, especially as Lloren’s use of his own funds to cover a part of the price and his legal actions against the Garidos negated any “devious intent” on his part.

The decision was penned by Associate Justice Sarah Jane T. Fernandez, with the concurrence of Presiding Justice Amparo M. Cabotaje-Tang and Associate Justice Bernelito R. Fernandez. /atm