Supreme Court affirms case vs ex-Interior secretary

MANILA, Philippines - The Supreme Court has unanimously affirmed a ruling of the Commission on Audit that held former Interior secretary Cesar Sarino and four other officials “civilly and criminally liable" for the illegal transfer of funds from the Interior department to the Office of the President in violation of constitutional provisions. In a 44-page en banc decision reached during the magistrates’ summer session in Baguio City, the high court denied the petition filed by Sarino assailing the finding of the department’s auditor that they have made unlawful disbursements. Aside from Sarino, also held liable were former undersecretary Andres Sanchez, former chief accountant Leonardo D. Regala, former director Rafael D. Barata and Norma Agbayani, former chief of the management division. The officials have retired from the service. The Supreme Court junked the arguments of petitioners that they were justified in making the transfer of funds because it was for a public purpose. It further ruled that petitioners failed to point out the specific law and provision that authorizes the transfer of funds. “We find that the use of the transferred funds was not in accordance with the purpose laid down by the Special Provisions of RA 7180 (General Appropriations Act)," the decision penned by Associate Justice Dante Tinga stated. “It is not enough for petitioners to loosely claim that the amount was used for a public purpose or that it was used to advance local autonomy. It is imperative for them to show that the questioned amount was used directly in fulfillment of the purpose for which the Fund was created." The Court said that Congress has given the President, Senate President, House Speaker, Chief Justice and heads of Constitutional Commissions the “exclusive power" to transfer savings under Sec 25 (5), Art VI of the 1987 Constitution No valid transfer of the fund to the Office of the President could have occurred in this case as there was neither allegation nor proof that the amount transferred was savings or that the transfer was for augmenting the item to which the transfer was made, the Supreme Court said. “The submission that there was a valid transfer of funds within the Executive Department should be rejected as it overlooks the fact that the power and authority to transfer in this case was exercised not by the President but only at the instance of the Deputy Executive Secretary, not the Executive Secretary himself," the Court added. The SC also ruled that even if the DILG Secretary had corroborated the initiative of the Deputy Executive Secretary, it does not even appear that the matter was authorized by the President. More fundamentally, the Court said that even then President Fidel Ramos himself could not have validly authorized the transfer under the Constitution. The Court also noted that at the time of the questioned transfer there was no savings in the DILG. Before a transfer is made, there must be savings in the programmed appropriation of the transferring agency and an existing item. The Court found out that there were no savings in the DILG at the time of the questioned transfers. Record shows that in 1991, Sarino issued a memorandum for the transfer and remittance to the Office of the President the sum of P300,000 for the operational expense of a newly created task force to implement local autonomy. To augment the project, an additional cash advance of P300,000 was taken from DILG’s Capability Building Program. But documents show there was no proper liquidation of the P600,000 cash advance made to one lawyer Hiram Mendoza who was not even an employee of either DILG or the Office of the President. Resident auditor Iluminada M.V. Fabroa disallowed the disbursements saying the transfer of fund from DILG to the Office of the President violated the General Appropriations Act of 1992 (RA 7180) and held Sarino et al. “jointly and severally liable for the amount" and directed them to immediately settle the amount. The COA upheld the findings of Fabroa, prompting the officials to seek a reversal from the Office of the President, which denied their plea. Sarino and the other officials then elevated the case to the SC. - GMANews.TV