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NFA cashier to serve jail time, fined for losing P10-M public funds to robbers
By J.Lo
"She admitted that as Cashier III and by nature of her official functions, she is considered an accountable officer," Sandiganbayan has sentenced National Food Authority (NFA) cashier to 10 years imprisonment and ordered her to pay P10 million in fines for losing over P10 million of public funds to robbers.
In 19-page decision dated March 1,2023, anti-graft court convicted Maria Theresa Gutierrez, Cashier III of NFA-North District Office (NFA-NDO), of malversation of public funds under Article 217 of Revised Penal Code.
Gutierrez's camp has acknowledged P10,105,187.25 placed inside peerless boxes were lost following robbery incident at NFA-NDO on June 1, 2008.
The Sandiganbyan said Gutierrez admitted to placing almost P10 million of NFA-NDO in Valenzuela City's sales or cash-on-hand inside peerless boxes stored in wooden cabinet inside Cashier's Office, with only P790,772.25 of the said amount kept inside safety vault.
It added Gutierrez testified she is responsible for safekeeping of these public funds until they are deposited to bank.
Although Gutierrez, who has worked many years with NFA-NDO, had never lost collection money before, she "failed to observe same standards days prior to June 1, 2008."
The Sandiganbayan cited instead of keeping all money collections inside safety vault at the end of the day, accused kept most of them in peerless carton boxes which she placed inside wooden cabinet in Cashier's Office.
Specifically, Gutierrez placed collection or cash payments NFA-NDO received on May 30, 2008 amounting to P9,390,834.00 inside peerless boxes.
"Since it was then Friday and accused was well aware that Saturdays and Sundays were non-banking days, she should have also realized that her act would mean leaving such huge cash money not in safety vault, as required, for three nights and two days…in doing so, she was undoubtedly neglectful, negligence of accused becomes more obvious when we take into account what was placed inside vault was merely partial collection for May 31 , 2008, in the amount of P790,772.25" the Sandiganbayan said.
The anti-graft court also ruled that Gutierrez failed to explain why she did not keep Friday collections inside vault but instead chose to do so in less-secured boxes.
It also cited testimony of Commission on Audit resident auditor Narcisa Joaquin, who told court that only one fourth of vault, opened by accused on June 1, 2008 or day of robbery, was occupied with coins and petty cash box.
Gutierrez, in her defense, argued circumstances were beyond her control and she actually exercised necessary precautions to secure NFA cash collections.
She said lone safety vault provided by her office could not accommodate volume of cash collections, which practically tripled in April 2008 due to rice crisis.
She also said because of sudden substantial increase in her daily collection, she resorted to storing them in peerless boxes that were kept inside locked cabinet in Cashier's Office located at far end of office building where only few personnel had access.
Further, Gutierrez said building was being guarded by private security personnel overnight, and that she verbally requested for an additional vault from her supervisor but none was provided.
The Sandiganbayan, dismissed her defense as self-serving and lacking in credence.
"Aside from her bare assertions, she did not present supporting evidence…nowhere in her evidence are keys to cabinet and office…if they were in her custody, as she claims, then she could have produced them in evidence… fact she did not present or account for them raises doubt on their existence and, ultimately, on truth of her allegation, while evidence on record does not show accused misappropriated public funds for her personal use or benefit, evidence points to conclusion loss of money collections to armed robbers was through her negligence", the court said.
The anti-graft court said Gutierrez should have pursued from her supervisors or management putting up of appropriate safety measures to address sudden increase in collections, rather than deciding for herself to keep them in carton boxes inside cabinet in her office.
"Even if she had nothing to do directly with robbery, practice that she had adopted for weeks, in carelessly keeping millions of cash in carton boxes inside wooden cabinet overnight or over weekend, practically facilitated planning and commission of robbery by criminal mind who had knowledge of routine practiced by her," the Sandiganbayan said.
"Accused Maria Theresa G. Gutierrez is hereby found guilty beyond reasonable doubt of malversation of public funds under Article 217 of Revised Penal Code, as amended," the court ruled.
Aside from jail time and fine, Gutierrez was also slapped with penalty of perpetual special disqualification from public office.
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