The Sandiganbayan has acquitted former mayor Edna V. Ogka Benito of Balabagan town in Lanao del Sur of her graft charges but three of her co-accused were convicted and sentenced to a jail term ranging from six to eight years each.

Convicted of violation of Section 3 (e) of Republic Act No. 3019, the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act, were Municipal Assessor and acting Municipal Budget Officer Sultan Rascal Z. Arimao, Municipal Accountant Najib Alyhar Zacaria, and Assistant Treasurer and acting Municipal Treasurer Casangoan Marohom.

Graft violation under Section 3 (e) is when a public official “causes undue injury to any party, including the government, or giving any private party unwarranted benefits, advantage or preference in the discharge of his official administrative or judicial functions through manifest partiality, evident bad faith or gross inexcusable negligence.”

In a 30-page decision, the anti-graft court said there was no evidence that Benito acted in bad faith or gross inexcusable negligence in the processing of the disbursement vouchers for the salaries from December 2013 to January 2015 of Nasser C. Disalongan as ex-officio Sanggunian Bayan (town council) member.

"Neither did the prosecution convincingly show to this Court the legal duty of accused Benito in relation to the processing of disbursement vouchers and payment of salaries of the members of the Sangguniang Bayan," it said in a decision written by Associate Justice Kevin Narce B. Vivero of the court’s sixth division.

During trial, Benito admitted that the salaries of Disalongan were indeed not paid. However, she stressed that she did not have any participation in processing the payment of salaries.

In their defense,  Arimao, Zacaria, and Marohom said the disbursement vouchers submitted by Disalongan, which are an essential documents required for the payment of salary, were defective.

They said Disalongan never attended a single Sangguniang Bayan session, so he is not entitled to the payment of his salaries.

Even if Disalongan did not attend a single Sanggunian Bayan session, the Sandiganbayan said the accused failed to show that they performed their duties and functions.

It said that records showed that Arimao, Zacaria, and Marohom failed to act on the salaries of Disalongan despite repeated demands.

Worse, it said, Arimao admitted that the salaries of Disalongan were included in the annual executive budget, and, thus, he should have certified the involved disbursement vouchers.

"Verily, it is extremely difficult to find a plausible explanation why the salaries of complainant were excluded from the rest of the employees of the municipality of Balabagan," the anti-graft court said.

Associate Justices Sarah Jane T. Fernandez and Karl B. Miranda concurred in the decision.