A former office manager of the Sacred Heart parish church in Cebu City was convicted yesterday for stealing at least half a million pesos in church funds.
Evelyn Mercader had worked there for nearly 20 years as bookkeeper and accountant, and was in charge of recording the monthly income from the church collections and expenses.
She was found guilty of 12 counts of qualified theft and sentenced to 146 years to 173 years imprisonment. She was also ordered to return the amount of P557,640.54 which she took from the Jesuit-run church.
However, the woman’s whereabouts are no longer known, according to parish sources privy to the case.
Regional Trial Court Judge Simeon Dumdum of Branch 7 said that under the law, Mercader would actually be required to stay behind bars for 40 years at most.
The parish,which marked its 60th year last year, was opened by the Jesuit congregation to serve the Chinese community in Cebu. Its church on D. Jakosalem Street was recently elevated into the Archdiocesan Shrine of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus.
The judge in his ruling said Mercader had abused the kindness and trust of the priests.
Mercader, whose father was the parish pianist, lived at the church compound since she was young and was granted a college scholarship.
When she graduated, the parish hired her as a bookkeeper, the head of the accounting office, then later as the parish’s accountant.
With her position, Mercader had access to the financial records and safety vault where the daily collections and other income of the parish were kept.
A committee formed in October 2004 by the new parish priest Fr. Benjamin Sim to determine the financial status of the parish discovered discrepancies in the financial records. The collections and income in the records differed from amounts actually deposited in the bank.
To cover up the theft, Mercader had ordered a utility worker to burn two garbage bags containing vouchers, used checks, and receipts.
When Mercader resigned in October 2004, the parish only had P30,000 in the bank and no more dollar account.
The finance committee discovered that the parish incurred a P1 million debt and failed to remit its monthly contribution for one year to the Archdiocese of Cebu.
Based on minutes of the committee meeting, Mercader admitted stealing P800,000 from the parish coffers but promised to return it.
She wrote an acknowledgement that she would pay back the amount by installement. But when she testified in court, Mercader denied stealing money from the parish.
Fr. Sim testified that it was improbable for the parish to incur huge debts since it was receiving so much and had bank deposits.