Case Digest (G.R. No. 227371)
Facts:
Carlos A. Catubao v. Sandiganbayan and the People of the Philippines, G.R. No. 227371, October 02, 2019, the Supreme Court Second Division, Caguioa, J., writing for the Court.Petitioner Carlos A. Catubao, then Fourth Assistant Provincial Prosecutor, was charged by Information filed by the Office of the Ombudsman with Direct Bribery (Art. 210, Revised Penal Code) for allegedly accepting P3,000.00 from complainant Cornelio Ragasa through Ragasa’s counsel, Atty. Fernando Perito, in December 2008 in Guiuan, Samar to expedite resolution of estafa cases. Catubao pleaded not guilty at arraignment on January 12, 2012; pre‑trial and trial followed before the Sandiganbayan.
The prosecution’s theory, chiefly from the testimonies of Atty. Perito and Ragasa, was that Catubao solicited money for “pang inom” and asked for around P5,000.00; Ragasa gave P5,000.00 to Perito who sent P4,000.00 via LBC to Catubao in Guiuan; thereafter Catubao purportedly acted to resolve Ragasa’s cases in his favor. Atty. Perito filed a complaint‑affidavit with the Ombudsman on August 18, 2009.
Catubao’s defense was that he had previously lent Atty. Perito P1,000.00; the P4,000.00 sent to him consisted of that P1,000.00 repayment plus an additional P3,000.00 as “balato” (a gift) because Perito had “won a case,” not as consideration to influence official action. Catubao also contested details of the prosecution witnesses’ timeline and locations.
The Sandiganbayan convicted Catubao in a Decision dated April 6, 2016 (penalty: indeterminate prison term, fine and disqualification), finding all elements of Direct Bribery proven; that Decision was penned by Associate Justice Jose R. Hernandez with Associate Justices Alex L. Quiroz and Maria Cristina J. Cornejo concurring. A motion for recons...(Subscriber-Only)
Issues:
- Did the Sandiganbayan err in convicting petitioner Carlos A. Catubao of Direct Bribery when the prosecution relied principally on the testimonies of Atty. Perito and ...(Subscriber-Only)
Ruling:
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Ratio:
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Doctrine:
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