Villanueva v. People

 

Villanueva v. People

G.R. No. 237738

June 10, 2019

FACTS:

                This case stemmed from an Information for violation of Section 7 ( d) of RA 6713 before the First Municipal Circuit Trial Court of Claveria-Sta. Praxedes, Claveria, Cagayan (MCTC).  According to the prosecution, petitioner was the Assistant Regional Director of the Cooperative Development Authority (CDA) for Region II. While in the performance of her official functions, as well as by taking advantage of her office, she willfully obtained a Pl,000,000.00 loan from the Claveria Agri-Based MultiPurpose Cooperative, Incorporated (CABMPCI), thereby violating the aforesaid provision of law which prohibits/disallows public officials/employees from directly/indirectly accepting/soliciting any loan or anything of monetary value from any person in the course of their official duties or in connection with any operation being regulated by, or any transaction which may be affected by the functions of their office, to the prejudice of the government and public interest. In her defense, petitioner maintained that the loans were obtained by virtue of her membership in CABMPCI, and that the same had already been paid. Notably, she claimed that notwithstanding her position in the CDA, she was nevertheless allowed under RA 6938, otherwise known as the "Cooperative Code of the Philippines," to become a member of a cooperative. Hence, she asserted that she may enjoy her rights incidental to her membership in CABMPCI, and consequently, allowed to obtain Ioans.

ISSUE:

                Whether or not the Sandiganbayan erred in upholding the conviction of petitioner for violation of Sec 7 (d) of RA 6713

HELD:

                Section 7 (d) of RA 6713 provides that: (d) Solicitation or acceptance of gifts. - Public officials and employees shall not solicit or accept, directly or indirectly, any gift, gratuity, favor, entertainment, loan or anything of monetary value from any person in the course of their official duties or in connection with any operation being regulated by. or any transaction which may be affected by the functions of their office.I n order to sustain a conviction for violation of Section 7 ( d) of RA 6713, the following elements must be proved with moral certainty: (a) that the accused is a public official or employee; ( b) that the accused solicited or accepted any loan or anything of monetary value from any person; and (c) that the said act was done in the course of the accused's official duties or in connection with any operation being regulated by, or any transaction which may be affected by the functions of his office.

                In this case, the prosecution was able to establish all the foregoing elements, considering that: (a) at the time the subject loans were obtained, petitioner was a public official; ( b) she solicited and accepted the subject loans from CABMPCI, which was a cooperative that was being regulated by her office; and (c) based on her own admission, the subject loans were obtained from CABMPCI, the transactions and operations of which are regulated by the functions of petitioner's office.