Sandiganbayan forfeits P5.6-M assets of ex-Laguna mayor Antonio Sanchez

The Sandiganbayan has forfeited in favor of the government P5.676-million worth of assets of former Calauan, Laguna mayor Antonio Sanchez, who was convicted of rape and murder of a University of the Philippines (UP) student in 1993.

In a 33-page decision promulgated by the court's Fifth Division on July 18, the court said the Office of the Solicitor General, representing the government, was able to establish that the value of the assets of Sanchez and his wife Editha for years 1986 to 1992 does not match their declared income for the same period.

“A perusal of the evidence presented by the plaintiff, namely, respondents’ Statements of Assets, Liabilities and Net Worth, Income Tax Return, Certificate of Tax Withheld, titles, etc. which was largely admitted by respondents, reveals quite a number of inconsistencies in respondents’ declared income compared to their net worth and expenses,” the ruling read.

“The income of respondents is considerably less than the total value of the assets that they acquired,” it added.

The ruling was penned by Fifth Division senior member Associate Justice Rafael Lagos and was concurred in by division chairman Associate Justice Roland Jurado and junior member Associate Justice Maria Theresa Mendoza-Arcega.

Among the Sanchez couple’s assets ordered forfeited in favor of the government were the following:

• 19 parcels of land with total acquisition cost of P679,440
• House in Calauan worth P100,800
• Three luxury vehicles (two Mercedes Benz and one Dodge Caravan van) worth P4.300 million
• Shares in ERAIS Lending company including accrued dividends worth P350,000
• Cash on hand and in banks worth P246,120

In the civil case filed witho the Sandiganbayan in 1993, the OSG originally asked for the forfeiture of P15.701 million worth of assets of the Sanchez couple.

The OSG said the value of the properties of the respondents is “grossly disproportionate” to their lawful salary of Sanchez as a public official as well as to the couple’s other lawful sources of income.

The OSG said these inconsistencies “give rise to the presumption that the said properties were unlawfully acquired.”

As further proof of the respondents’ “disproportionate wealth,” the OSG cited the Sanchez couple’s lavish lifestyle and expenses such as sending their three children to Hurwood house, an exclusive school in London which allegedly cost P1 million for each child, their frequent travels abroad especially in Japan, Hong Kong, USA, Italy, United Kingdom and Germany. The OSG said the couple had even once hosted a 550-headcount birthday party at the Manila Hotel.

However, in its ruling, the Fifth Division crossed out several items in the properties that the OSG prayed to be forfeited.

The Fifth Division said there were three parcels of land that must not be included on the list as one was proven to be inherited by Editha from her parents while the titles for the two other land properties were already cancelled.

The Fifth Division further said that upon perusal of the evidence, the house of the Sanchez couple only cost P100,800 and not P5 million as claimed by the OSG.

The Fifth Division said there is also “no evidence on record” that the Sanchez couple has a P5-million investment in Magob Import and Export Phils.

Nonetheless, the court maintained that the income of respondents “is disproportionate to their acquired assets”.

“While, initially, respondents posited that they had other legitimate sources of income apart from respondent Antonio Sanchez’s positions in government that enabled them to accumulate such wealth, there is, however, no proof of the same because respondents effectively waived their presentation of evidence on this matter,” the court’s decision read.

The court explained that the resolution of the case was delayed for years because of the unnecessary motions and pleadings of the respondents’ camp.

The Fifth Division said that despite final warnings earlier given to the respondents, they continued to cause delays in the proceedings of the case, thus the court decided to waive their right to present their counter-evidence.

“Therefore, in conclusion, we find that respondents’ assets and expenses are grossly and manifestly disproportionate to their legitimate income, and thus, these assets and the funds used for the disproportionate expenses were unlawfully acquired, and, hence, subject to forfeiture,” the decision read.

In 1995, Sanchez was convicted by the Laguna Regional Trial Court of rape and murder of UP student Aileen Sarmenta in 1993 as well as of the murder of Sarmenta’s boyfriend Allan Gomez.

The Supreme Court upheld the Laguna RTC’s ruling in 1999. Sanchez is currently serving his sentence of seven terms of reclusion perpetua at the New Bilibid Prisons in Muntinlupa City. —KBK, GMA News