Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, December 27) — The Sandiganbayan has affirmed the guilty verdict against former Benguet provincial cashier Esther Pagano for malversation of public funds.
In its decision dated December 20, the anti-graft court’s Fifth Division said it found no valid reason to reverse an earlier ruling by a regional trial court in La Trinidad, Benguet that convicted Pagano on 12 counts of malversation.
Pagano earlier appealed her conviction, claiming the RTC erred in its ruling.
The Sandiganbayan stressed that it is not inclined to review the findings of fact of the trial court unless its findings are “erroneous, absurd, speculative, conjectural, conflicting, or tainted with grave abuse of discretion.”
It added that the trial court is in a better position to decide on the credibility of witnesses “having heard the witnesses themselves and having observed their demeanor and manner of testifying during the trial.”
Pagano was charged for failing to account for over ₱4 million in provincial funds in 1997. As provincial cashier, she was responsible for collecting cash and checks and depositing them to the banks under Benguet’s General Fund.
