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Sandiganbayan acquits ex-DOF official on P5-M tax credit of bus firm in 1997
Sandiganbayan acquits ex-DOF official on P5-M tax credit of bus firm in 1997
The Sandiganbayan has acquitted former Department of Finance (DOF) Deputy Executive Director Uldarico P. Andutan Jr. of his graft and falsification charges for failure of the prosecution “to prove his guilt with moral certainty.”
Andutan was charged with violations of 3(j) of Republic Act No. 3019, the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act, and Article 171, paragraph 4 of the Revised Penal Code on falsification of public documents, together with other DOF officials and members of the One-Stop Shop Inter-Agency Tax Credit and Drawback Center (CENTER) Antonio P. Belicena, Raul C. De Vera, and Rosanna P. Diala.
On June 30, 1997, the accused reportedly conspired with private individuals Amelia C. De Dios and Joseph A. Cabotaje when they issued Tax Credit Certificate No. 007709 for P5,038,097 in favor of Columbus Philippines Bus Corporation in the purchase of six units of Mitsubishi Fuso RS 115 for P28,062,030.
The anti-graft court had already acquitted De Vera and Diala, while the cases against Belicena and Cabotaje had been dismissed.
In acquitting Andutan, the anti-graft court said that the prosecution failed to prove its theory of conspiracy among the accused.
It said that even while Andutan recommended the approval of the tax credit computation, there was no conclusive evidence that he did so "in furtherance of an unlawful common design or purpose."
"Considering that accused Andutan is not the approving authority, and there being no conspiracy between him and Belicena, the former cannot be held criminally responsible for the approval of Columbus' tax credit application," the court said.
"Neither can accused be faulted for his recommendation since the prosecution failed to prove that he had prior knowledge that Columbus is not qualified or entitled to the tax credit applied for," it added.
Meanwhile, the case against De Dios has been ordered archived because she remains at large.
The 23-page decision was written by Associate Justice Lorifel L. Pahimna with the concurrence of Fourth Division Chairperson Alex L. Quiroz and Associate Justice Bayani H. Jacinto.