The Sandiganbayan convicted on Friday afternoon, Oct. 7, former Philippine National Police’s (PNP) Maj. Gen. Eliseo Decena Dela Paz of violation of the New Central Bank Act and was ordered to pay a fine of P200,000 for travelling abroad in 2008 with undeclared foreign currency that exceeded the allowable limit.
Dela Paz’s wife, Maria Fe, was acquitted for failure of the prosecution to prove her guilt beyond reasonable doubt.
The decision was written by Fourth Division Chairperson Michael Frederick L. Musngi with the concurrence of Associate Justices Lorifel L. Pahimna and Bayani H. Jacinto.
The Dela Paz couple was accused of having in their possession 105,000 euros which they failed to declare at the Sheremetyevo International Airport in Moscow, Russia in October 2008. At the time, Dela Paz was still the director of the PNP’s Directorate for Comptrollership.
Government prosecutors initially charged the couple in two cases -- SB-11-CRM-0291 for violation of Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) Circular No. 57, in relation to Section 36 of Republic Act No. 7653, the New Central Bank Act, and SB-11-CRM-0291 for violation of Article 237 of the Revised Penal Code, for which they have been acquitted.
Dela Paz and other "Euro Generals" were also previously charged with graft and illegal use of public funds before the Sandiganbayan’s second division.
The charges stemmed from the reportedly illegal disbursement of P10 million from the confidential intelligence fund (CIF) of the PNP to be used as a contingency fund and travel allowance of the PNP’s delegation to the 77th INTERPOL General Assembly in Russia.
The prosecution claimed that the "Euro Generals" were disqualified under the General Appropriations Act (GAA) from travelling abroad to attend foreign trainings or conferences. The prosecution accused them of acting with deliberate intent to commit a wrongdoing.
However, the charges against them were dismissed in 2019 after the anti-graft court granted their demurrer to evidence – a motion filed by an accused to dismiss the criminal charges on alleged weakness of the prosecution's evidence to sustain a conviction.
Aside from Dela Paz, also acquitted were Police Col.Tomas Rentoy III, Police Lt. Gen. Ismael Rafanan, Police Brig. Gen. Orlando Pestaño, Police Lt. Col. Samuel Rodriguez, Police Lt. Gen. Emmanuel Carta, retired Police Lt. Romeo Ricardo, Police Maj. Gen. German Doria, and Police Maj. Gen. Jaime Garcia Caringal.
TAGS: # PNP # EURO GENERALS