Former Mayor Lucio Barcela Uera of Pantabangan in Nueva Ecija has been found guilty of graft and malversation for his irregular cash advance of P60,000 for a trip to Sydney, Australia in 2006 without travel authority.
The Sandiganbayan sentenced Uera to prison terms ranging from six to eight years for graft, and two to seven years for malversation. He was also ordered to pay a penalty of P60,000 and banned perpetually from holding public office.
But the anti-graft court, for insufficiency of evidence, acquitted him of two other malversation charges involving more than P24,000 he reimbursed for food supplies in his office.
Case records showed that on April 4, 2006, Uera made a cash advance of P60,000 for a trip to Australia to watch an animal show despite the absence of a travel authority.
While the purpose of Uera's travel to Australia was never in question, the anti-graft court said the lack of travel authority really put a dent on the liquidation of public funds.
The court said Uera should have secured approval from the Office of the President for his travel, and then seek out the Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG) Secretary for the issuance of the travel order.
In his defense, Uera presented several certifications from government officials such as former Vice Gov. Mariano Cristino N. Joson and Abraham A. Pascua from the Office of the Provincial Governor, which stated that he was with them during the trip to Australia to attend the “Royal Easter Livestock Show.”
He also provided a computer print-out of an unsigned Travel Order supposedly issued on March 28, 2006 by the late Nueva Ecija Gov. Tomas N. Joson III for his April 4 to 18, 2006 foreign travel.
The court said Uera "practically admitted" during trial that he has not secured the requisite travel authority from the DILG Secretary to make his foreign trip official.
It pointed out that it cannot give "probative weight" to Uera's defense because the travel order can only be given by the DILG Secretary, as a delegated function from the Office of the President.
"Having thus failed to secure the proper authority to allow his travel abroad, accused's consequent act of drawing the cash advance of P60,000 has become irregular, having failed to comply with rules and regulations. Without the requisite travel authority, a government official travelling on official business would be hard-pressed to prove the official nature of his trip," the court ruled.
The decision was written by Associate Justice Ma. Theresa Dolores C. Gomez-Estoesta. Associate Justices Zaldy V. Trespeses and Georgina D. Hidalgo concurred in the ruling.