Bribery conviction of DENR land surveyor affirmed
A FORMER chief surveyor of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) in Olongapo City, Zambales has succeeded in convincing the Sandiganbayan to set aside his conviction for graft even as the court ruled that he will still serve jail time for indirect bribery.
The Sandiganbayan sustained the contention of accused Justino Cabungcal that the graft allegations against him did not involve a valid contract or transaction with the government, which placed it outside the ambit of the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act (RA 3019).
Cabungcal was accused of charging a P15,000 fee to survey the lot of complainant Antonio Rosaroso even if such a service is supposed to be free.
He was collared by agents of the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) during an entrapment operation on September 27, 2016 after receiving marked money from Rosaroso at the DENR-Community Environment and Natural Resources Office (CENRO).
On November 20, 2019, Cabungcal was convicted by the Olongapo City Regional Trial Court of violation of Section 3 (b) of RA 3019.
In his appeal, Cabungcal invoked the Supreme Court ruling in the 2007 case of Merencillo vs. People of the Philippines that a violation of Section 3 (b) of RA 3019 is limited to contracts or transactions involving monetary consideration.
The anti-graft court agreed that while the complainant had to pay the accused a sum, Cabungcal’s actions did not amount to a valid graft case because the issuance of the survey certification was free.
“This court is constrained to rule that the issuance of the certificate is neither a contract nor a transaction within the context of the offense charged. The issuance of a certificate is free as per the testimony of accused-appellant,” the Sandiganbayan said.
On the other hand, it pointed out that indirect bribery was proven since the case involved a sum of money offered to the accused in exchange for the processing and approval of a land plan application.
Instead of imprisonment for six to nine years as ordered by the Olongapo RTC, Cabungcal’s sentence was lowered to imprisonment for four months to four years.
