Sandiganbayan acquits former MinDa exec of graft charges

The Sandiganbayan has acquitted a former official of the Mindanao Development Authority (MinDA) of graft charges for allegedly bringing her husband to a safety seminar using government money.

In a 26-page decision promulgated on October 26, the anti-graft court acquitted then MinDa administrator Charlita Escaño of violation of Section 3(e) of the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act, as amended.

“After a thorough review of the evidence on record, as well as the stipulations of the parties, the evidence presented failed to prove beyond reasonable doubt the guilt of C. Escaño,” the court said.

The court ordered the bond Escaño posted to be released and the hold departure order issued against her to be lifted and set aside.

It said that no civil liability will also be given against Escaño.

In March 2015, Escaño was accused of acting with evident bad faith or gross inexcusable negligence and giving unwarranted benefit to her husband by letting him attend a seminar in Davao City when a pre-registered engineer was unable to do so.

The seminar had a fee of P6,000.

The prosecution claimed that Escaño was already aware that the engineer will not be able to attend and she intended to make her husband a substitute.

However, Escaño argued that it was not her intention and that she was not aware that the engineer will not be able to attend. She said she invited her husband to attend the seminar when she saw that there were a lot of vacant seats in the venue.

For its part, the court said that Escaño did not intend for her husband to take the place of the pre-registered engineer.

It also ruled that there was no manifest partiality on the part of Escaño.

Though it found Escaño to have been negligent, it said her negligence was unable to meet the gravity required to sustain a conviction for gross inexcusable negligence under section 3(e).

“It was negligent for her to assume that her husband will pay for his own registration fee, when it was her who invited A. Escaño to attend the seminar. Such cavalier attitude contributed to the wrong impression by the PICE- Davao registration personnel that the registration fee for Engr. Buhat was to be applied to A. Escaño,” it said.

Meanwhile, the court said that Escaño's husband thought his wife had already paid for the registration fee when she asked him to join the seminar.

The court said there was no unwarranted benefit, advantage, or preference extended to the husband.

“As a matter of fact, A. Escaño paid for his registration fee, although belatedly, after being sent a demand letter by PICE-Davao,” it said.—AOL, GMA News