The Sandiganbayan has granted the plea for probation of Dumanjug, Cebu Administrative Officer IV Emmylou Cabonilas who had been convicted of usurpation.
Cabonilas had been sentenced to a prison term ranging from two months and one day as minimum penalty to eight months and 21 days as maximum penalty.
Last Jan. 20, Cabonilas filed an Application for Probation. She told the court she is qualified since the penalty imposed on her does not exceed six years.
Her probation officer submitted a post-sentence investigation report last April 5 and recommended the approval of Cabonilas' probation.
"After having evaluated the post-sentence investigation report, the court finds the recommendation therein for the granting of the probation of the accused to be in order," the Sandiganbayan said in a resolution promulgated last June 25.
Based on the court’s order, Cabonilas' probation will be one year counted from her initial report for supervision, and she is required to report to her probation officer at least once a month.
Cabonilas is also required to attend Therapeutic Community Modality Training as well as to plant and nurture trees, and to render community service.
Probation is a period of supervision ordered by the court over a convicted individual instead of having him or her serve time in prison.
Section 4 of Presidential Decree No. 968, the Probation Law of 1976, provides that a "court may, after it shall have convicted and sentenced a defendant for a probational penalty and upon application by said defendant within a period for perfecting an appeal, suspend the execution of the sentence and place the defendant on probation for such period and upon such terms and conditions as it may deem best."
Cabonilas is the co-accused of the late Dumanjug Mayor Nelson Gamaliel Garcia. They were found guilty of violating Article 177 of the Revised Penal Code for signing a Sangguniang Bayan (SB) resolution that usurped the functions of the municipal council secretary in 2014.
The resolution that granted the probation was written by Associate Justice Rafael R. Lagos and concurred in by Associate Justices Maria Theresa V. Mendoza-Arcega and Maryann E. Corpus Mañalac.