Case Digest (G.R. No. 198162)
Facts:
In Corazon M. Lacap vs. Sandiganbayan (Fourth Division) and the People of the Philippines, G.R. No. 198162, decided January 22, 2018, the petitioner, Corazon M. Lacap, was the duly elected Municipal Mayor of Masantol, Pampanga, who assumed office on June 30, 1998. Private complainant Fermina Santos, owner of Fersan Variety Store, applied for her annual Mayor’s Permit for 1999 and 2000 between February and March of each year, submitting complete documentary requirements—including Taxpayer’s Information Sheet, SSS Clearance, Community Tax Certificate, Health and Sanitary Permits, Fire Permit, Barangay Certificate, and Certificate of Business Name Registration—and paying assessed fees at the Office of the Municipal Treasurer. Despite repeated demands and a formal transmittal letter dated April 26, 1999 from Atty. Julita Calderon of the Ombudsman’s Public Assistance Bureau attaching Santos’s application and supporting papers, Mayor Lacap neither approved nor disapproved the applicatCase Digest (G.R. No. 198162)
Facts:
- Background and Charge
- Corazon Mallari Lacap was elected Municipal Mayor of Masantol, Pampanga on June 30, 1998.
- Fermina Santos owned Fersan Variety Store and applied for Mayor’s Permit for the years 1999 and 2000. She alleged that Mayor Lacap willfully refused to act on her application to retaliate for Santos’s complaints against Lacap and her husband.
- Prosecution Case
- Santos testified she submitted a complete set of requirements (Exhs. A–L) but was denied the permit; she then sought assistance from the Ombudsman’s Public Assistance Bureau through Atty. Julita Calderon.
- Atty. Calderon sent a transmittal letter (Exh. N) with all documents, requesting prompt action; Lacap took no direct action and, instead, her retained counsel replied (Exh. P) claiming that Santos had withdrawn her application.
- Additional witnesses—the Municipal Treasurer, Santos’s husband Alejandro Santos, and businessman Andres Onofre—testified to irregular enforcement and Lacap’s inaction.
- Defense Case
- Mayor Lacap denied ever receiving Santos’s application and said she referred Ombudsman’s letter to her lawyer for advice due to multiple pending cases filed by Santos.
- Belinda Trinidad, former municipal bookkeeper, issued certifications stating no application by Santos was filed or that requirements were incomplete.
Issues:
- Whether the Sandiganbayan misapprehended facts in finding Mayor Lacap guilty of willful refusal to act under Section 3(f) of RA 3019.
- Whether referring the Ombudsman’s letter to counsel constitutes a positive official act sufficient to negate inaction.
- Whether there was categorical proof of a discriminatory motive against Santos beyond mere assumption.
Ruling:
- (Subscriber-Only)
Ratio:
- (Subscriber-Only)
Doctrine:
- (Subscriber-Only)