On account of his death, the Sandiganbayan has dismissed the criminal cases filed against the late former Mayor Romeo V. Borja Sr. of Pantabangan, Nueva Ecija.
Borja was charged with 33 counts of violations of Section 52(g) of Republic Act No. 8291, the Government Service Insurance System (GSIS), for alleged non-remittance of the GSIS premium contributions of a municipal employee from 2007 to 2010.
He passed away last year, and the prosecution submitted his Certificate of Death to the anti-graft court.
"Accordingly, SB-13-CRM-0739 to 0771 are hereby dismissed as to accused Borja by reason of his death,“ stated the anti-graft court’s resolution issued by Associate Justices Sarah Jane T. Fernandez, Karl B. Miranda and Kevin Narce B. Vivero of the court’s sixth division.
While Borja's cases were dismissed, his two co-accused -- accountant Rosita A. Yang and treasurer Jorja B. Palacio – did not escape criminal liability. Yang was convicted of 33 counts while Palacio was found guilty in 26 counts.
In a decision handed down last January, Yang and Palacio were sentenced to imprisonment of one year as minimum to two years as maximum for each count. Yang was ordered to pay a fine of P10,000 for each count or a total of P330,000, while Palacio has to pay P260,000.
The criminal charge sheets filed by the prosecution stated that the municipal officers failed to remit the GSIS premium contributions of municipal employee Gerardo O. Sator for the months of October to December 2007, January to March and May to December 2008, January to December 2009, and January to August 2010 within 30 days from the time the premium contributions became due and demandable.
Section 52 (g) of RA 8291 provides that “the heads of the offices of the national government, its political subdivisions ..., and the personnel of such offices who are involved in the collection of premium contributions... due the GSIS who shall fail, refuse or delay the payment, turnover, remittance or delivery of such accounts ... within thirty (30) days from the time that the same shall have been due and demandable shall, upon conviction by final judgment, suffer the penalties of imprisonment of not less than one (1) year nor more than five (5) years....”