Barangay Treasurer in Negros Occidental Gets Life for Fraud

Prosecutors from the Office of the Deputy Ombudsman for Visayas have secured the conviction of Charlene Cabusas, former treasurer of Barangay Rizal, San Carlos City, Negros Occidental, for 30 counts of malversation through falsification of commercial documents that resulted in P780,000 in cash shortage.
 
The joint ruling issued by the San Carlos City Regional Trial Court (RTC), Negros Occidental Branch 57 sentenced Cabusas to suffer imprisonment of reclusion perpetua for each of 15 cases.
 
Meanwhile, for 14 other cases, she was sentenced to suffer imprisonment of 13 years, 1 month, and 11 days of reclusion temporal as minimum to 20 years of reclusion temporal as maximum.
 
For one other case, she was sentenced to suffer the indeterminate penalty of 8 years, 8 months, and one day of prision mayor as minimum to 14 years and 8 months of reclusion temporal as maximum.
 
During trial, the Ombudsman prosecutors established that from March 2008 to March 2009, Cabusas falsified 30 checks by altering their details.
 
The audit investigation conducted by the Commission on Audit (COA) found the 30 checks issued from the barangay’s Development Bank of the Philippines (DBP) account were in excess of the stated amounts in their corresponding disbursement vouchers.
 
The COA determined that of the 30 checks, 16 of these were falsified with respect to the name of the payee and the amount, while the remaining 14 checks were falsified as to amount, resulting in a cash shortage of P780,000.

Cabusas admitted the cash shortage to the COA auditors.
A demand to produce the fund shortage was unheeded.




The San Carlos City RTC ruled that Cabusas was the payee, endorser, and recipient of the cash proceeds of all the 30 checks.


It said "the glaring discrepancy in the amount authorized vis-à-vis the amount reflected on the checks as encashed, coupled by the frequency by which the subject checks were drawn, readily reveal a deceitful hand at work. No other inference can be made except that the felonious acts of the accused were carefully calculated to illegally amass hundreds of thousands of pesos to the detriment of Barangay Rizal."
 
Aside from imprisonment, the RTC also ordered Cabusas to pay a fine of P780,000 equivalent to the amount malversed and another P780,000 for civil liability to Barangay Rizal with the accessory penalty of perpetual special disqualification for public office. Original Post: Woman barangay treasurer gets life imprisonment for P780,000 check fraud. InterAksyion.