Ex-cop gets jail time for failing to return service firearm

The Sandiganbayan sentenced a former police officer in Bataan to two to seven years of imprisonment, among other penalties, for failing to return government-issued guns and bulletproof vests worth P260,000.

This happened after the anti-graft court upheld the Balanga Regional Trial Court's decision convicting Patrolman Shaolin Cabatuan of malversation charges in connection with his unlawful use of government-issued equipment, which includes:

• one unit of caliber 5.56 mm M16 Elisco rifle with S/N SER 063192 with magazine and live ammunitions worth P37,857.14
• one unit of caliber 9 mm Glock 17 GEN4 Pistol with S/N PNP51624 with magazine and ammunitions worth P16,659.94; 
• one unit of caliber 9 mm Glock 17 GEN4 Pistol with S/N PNP02984 valued at P16,659.94 and 
• three pieces of bulletproof vests with a total value of P188,994

“The accused-appellant's actual receipt of the firearms, ammunition, and bulletproof vests, as evidenced by his signed property acknowledgment receipts and corroborated by testimonial and documentary evidence, establishes beyond reasonable doubt that he had custody, control, and accountability over the subject public properties,” the Sandiganbayan said.

“The accused-appellant's explanation that he failed to return the firearms due to fear for his personal safety, alleged uncertainty as to the proper recipient, and that he later surrendered the firearms only upon his arrest, is a self-serving and belated justification,” the anti-graft court added.

The Sandiganbayan said that if Cabatuan’s possession of the guns and bulletproof vests were legal and justified, he could have formally coordinated with his superiors or documented the turnover at the earliest opportunity.

“His surrender of the firearms only after his arrest does not negate criminal liability, as subsequent return does not extinguish malversation already consummated,” the Sandiganbayan said.

In his defense, Cabatuan stated that he did not return the firearms before going absent without leave because of fear for his personal safety, and that the items entrusted to him were tactical, not bulletproof, vests.

The Sandiganbayan, however, dismissed these justifications as baseless in law.

“By deliberately taking and retaining these firearms while in hiding, the accused-appellant exercised control over government property in a manner inconsistent with his official duties, thereby constituting misappropriation. The accused-appellant's attempt to distinguish between "bulletproof vests" and "tactical vests" is [also] equally unavailing.  The documentary evidence clearly shows that the vests were received by him in his official capacity, and he raised no objection as to their nature during trial,” the Sandiganbayan said.

“Having found all the foregoing elements to be present in this case, it is without doubt that the crime charged in the information was committed by accused-appellant Cabatuan. Stated differently, the court finds that the prosecution sufficiently proved beyond reasonable doubt the existence of all the elements of the crime of Malversation of Public Funds or Property under Article 217 of the RP?. Accordingly, the appeal is denied,” it added.

Aside from the jail time, the anti-graft court imposed a special perpetual disqualification from public office on Cabatuan on top of a fine worth P260,000 or the amount malversed. —LDF, GMA Integrated News