Customs official appeals sentence for falsification

MANILA, Philippines–A former intelligence official at the Bureau of Customs (BOC) on Monday asked the Sandiganbayan to overturn its decision sentencing him to up to six years in prison for faking his educational credentials.

In a nine-page motion for reconsideration, Filomeno Vicencio Jr. said the antigraft court’s First Division committed “serious errors of facts and law” when it found him guilty of falsification of a public document for falsely claiming that he had a college degree from the University of the East (UE).

Vicencio, the former chief of the BOC Intelligence and Investigation Service, said the court erred when it dismissed as “incredulous” the testimonies of his son, Ramon Vicencio, and his personal aide, Alfredo Latumbo, because of their close relationship to him.

“With due respect to the honorable court, to declare that their testimonies lacked credibility simply because of their relationship with the accused is obviously erroneous and unfair,” said Vicencio in his plea.

Instead of dismissing their testimonies outright as biased, he said the court should “scrutinize and consider” their statements “objectively.”

Citing a previous ruling of the Supreme Court, Vicencio maintained that “relationship per se does not evince ulterior motive nor does it ipso facto tarnish the credibility of witnesses.”

“The test of credibility should not be selective. (T)he honorable court should ascertain the credibility of the testimony of a witness in its entirety… and not believe some and doubt some,” he said.

He said the antigraft court committed a mistake when it convicted him “notwithstanding the weakness of the evidence presented by the prosecution.”

Since the court agreed that it was his son who had provided the erroneous information on his personal data sheet (PDS), Vicencio said he should be absolved of a criminal offense under the Revised Penal Code.

“From the testimonies of the witnesses, it was duly established that the accused [came] in good faith… The rule is that there can be no conviction for falsification of a public document if the acts of the accused are consistent with good faith,” Vicencio said.

In handing down a guilty verdict, the court noted that Vicencio—who was appointed by then President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo in May 2009—did not disclose even during the preliminary investigation by the Office of the Ombudsman if he had a college degree as required by the position.