SC affirms guilty verdict on official

MANILA, Philippines—The Supreme Court has affirmed a Sandiganbayan ruling that found a regional director of the Office of Southern Cultural Communities guilty of malversation of public funds in the amount of some P220,000.

The high court’s First Division upheld the antigraft court’s guilty verdict on Marino B. Icdang, who was ordered to pay a fine of P196,000 and serve a prison sentence of up to 18 years.

“Under the facts on record, we find no grave abuse of discretion on the part of the (Sandiganbayan) when it submitted the case for decision and rendered the judgment of conviction on the basis of the prosecution evidence after the defense failed to present its evidence despite ample opportunity to do so,” said Associate Justice Martin Villarama Jr. who penned the ruling.

“Wherefore, the petition (of Icdang) is dismissed. The decision promulgated … by the Sandiganbayan is affirmed,” the high tribunal said.

The Commission on Audit in 1998 discovered that Icdang was involved in the misappropriation of P219,392.75 that was intended for indigenous communities in Mindanao.

“The funds intended for programs for Ancestral Domain Claim Development and in support of tribal cooperatives was cash that was advanced but the proposed projects were not implemented,” the high court said.

It added that there were no official cash books maintained to record the cash advances and disbursements from the funds allocated in 1996 for livelihood projects.