Former Guiguinto MTC clerk of court gets 6 years for P1.39M missing collections

THE Sandiganbayan has affirmed the conviction of a former clerk of court of the Municipal Trial Court of Guiguinto, Bulacan for one count of malversation of public funds for her failure to account for a P1.39 million shortage in her collection of court fees and charges in 2004.

In its 20-page decision dated September 13, 2024, the Sixth Division denied the appeal filed by defendant Erlinda Cabrera and upheld the findings of the Regional Trial Court of Malolos, Bulacan in its assailed 2019 ruling.

Modifying the penalty imposed by the Malolos RTC, the Sandiganbayan sentenced Cabrera to imprisonment for six to 10 years with perpetual disqualification from holding public office.

She was also fined P1.386 million, equivalent to the total unremitted collections and ordered to pay restitution to the Supreme Court in the same amount subject to six percent legal interest per year from the finality of the judgment until full satisfaction.

Associate Justice Kevin Narce B. Vivero penned the resolution while Associate Justices Sarah Jane T. Fernandez and Karl B. Miranda concurred.

The case stemmed from a finding by government auditors that there was a discrepancy in the MTC’s collections and the amount remitted.

State auditor Teresita Sason testified that after verifying the existence of a cash shortage, her team forwarded their findings to the Supreme Court, prompting then Chief Justice Hilario Davide to order a financial audit led by its audit analyst from the Fiscal Monitoring Division.

Sason likewise told the court that when confronted, the accused admitted the discrepancy, apologized and asked for some time to make full restitution.

However, once the case was filed in court, Cabrera pleaded not guilty and denied that she acknowledged her guilt before the audit team in her reply to the demand letter.

“Based on the two audits conducted by the COA and the SC, the missing funds form part of the Clerk of Court General Fund, Judiciary Development Fund, and Fiduciary Fund. All of these funds belong to the judiciary, making them public funds,” the Sandiganbayan declared.

While the defendant asserted her innocence, the court pointed out that her reply to the demand letter was a