A former town mayor, who had been at large for many years until his surrender in 2018, has been acquitted by the Sandiganbayan of his technical malversation and graft charges allegedly committed from 1990 to 1993. Acquitted by the Sandiganbayan was former mayor Rufo C. Pabelonia of Tagbina town in Surigao del Sur.  He was charged with two counts of violation of Article 220 of the Revised Penal Code on technical malversation and graft under the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act. His co-accused in the cases – former councilors Pedro B. Pabelonia, Ernest E. Jaro, Rosario M. Aranez, Evelyn S. Juan, Nicomedes I. Abad, and Felix M. Jabagaton Jr., and former municipal treasurer Lourdes C. Bernal had been acquitted of the charges in a decision issued on Nov. 22, 2011. Pabelonia surrender to the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG) of the Philippine National Police (PNP) in Davao City on Nov. 1, 2018.  He was arraigned on Nov. 7, 2018 and pleaded not guilty. In the first technical malversation charge, the former mayor was accused of diverting P63,000 from the National Aid for Local Government Unit (NALGU) funds appropriated for the construction of Tagbina Municipal Building and used it instead to pay for the cash gifts of municipal officials and employees, including casual employees on Feb. 5, 1990. In the second technical malversation charge, Pabelonia reportedly diverted P151,642.70 in public funds intended for the construction of Tagongon Barangay Gymnasium and used it to pay for the claim of J&A Pimentel Construction, the municipal building contractor, on Nov. 5, 1990. For his graft charge, Pabelonia was accused of incurring unexplained expenses amounting to P54,849.15 in the construction of the Tagongon Barangay Gymnasium from 1991 to 1993. In resolving the cases, the anti-graft court ruled that the prosecution failed to prove all of the elements of the crimes of technical malversation and graft. "Bad faith is never presumed, more so evident bad faith," the decision dated May 26, 2023 stated. "Reviewing closely the evidence introduced by both parties, this Court is convinced beyond a moral certainty that accused Mayor Pabelonia did not act with evident bad faith in the construction of the Gymnasium to the detriment of the government," the court said. "Other than a mere mathematical computation showing discrepancies, no further evidence was presented to prove any indication of evident bad faith or ill will on his part," it said Associate Justice Bernelito R. Fernandez wrote the 30-page decision with the concurrence of Presiding Justice Amparo M. Cabotaje-Tang and Associate Justice Ronald B. Moreno.