The Sandiganbayan has affirmed the conviction of a former Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) official who demanded P125,000 in exchange for the transfer of a land title in 2005.

Veronica Santiago Carpio, former chief of the Taxpayers Service Division of Revenue District Office No. 38 of the BIR, was found guilty of estafa and sentenced to one year in prison by the Quezon City regional trial court (RTC).  She was also ordered to pay P125,000 in damages to complainant Evangeline S. Magleo.

While Carpio’s prison term was affirmed, the anti-graft court modified the term for the payment of damages: “The amount P125,000 as actual damages is subject to legal interest at the rate of 12 percent per annum from the filing of the Information on Dec. 29, 2011 until June 30, 2013, and six percent from July 1, 2013 until finality of this Decision and until full satisfaction thereof."

Prosecutors said that Carpio made it appear that she has connections with the Registry of Deeds of Quezon City, and tried to convince the late Ofelia Salas and complainant Magleo that she is capable of facilitating the transfer of ownership of a Quezon City property and issuance of a new Transfer Certificate of Title (TCT) in the name of Magleo in exchange for P125,000.

However, the transfer of title never materialized and the money was never returned to Magleo.

Carpio appealed the RTC decision as she told the anti-graft court that the P125,000 subject of the case was used for the transfer of title to Magleo. She also said the amount was insufficient to cover the taxes for registering the land sale and transferring the title to Magleo’s name.

While Carpio denied involvement in the transaction, the anti-graft court noted that the BIR official could not explain why her signature appeared on the acknowledgment receipt for the money.

"Denial is an intrinsically weak defense that must be buttressed with strong evidence of non-culpability to merit credibility," the anti-graft court said.

"Unless supported by clear and convincing evidence, denial cannot prevail over the positive declaration of a victim who, like in this case, in a natural and straightforward manner, convincingly testified on the circumstances surrounding the fraudulent representation made by appellant," it said.

"The accused-appellant's weak denial, coupled with inconsistent and incredulous statements, could not prevail over Magleo's positive testimony. Thus, the accused-appellant's conviction must be upheld," it ruled.

The 22-page decision was written by Associate Justice J. Ermin Ernest Louie R. Miguel with the concurrence of Fourth Division Chairperson and Associate Justice Michael Frederick L. Musngi and Associate Justice Lorifel L. Pahimna.