G.R. No. 253975 - PEOPLE OF THE PHILIPPINES, VS. REX FUSINGAN DAPITAN, ACCUSED-.

Ruling

Accordingly, a Notice of Disallowance was issued disallowing the amount of P50,625.00. In view of the foregoing, a criminal complaint against Dapitan was filed before the Office of the Ombudsman, which in turn, found probable cause against him; hence, resulting in the filing of the instant case. [5] In defense, while Dapitan admitted that he was among those who prepared the training design for the Lakbay Aral , he nevertheless denied being the proponent thereof. Pointing out that the Lakbay Aral has been a long-standing practice in order to update SKSU with the current best practices of other state universities, Dapitan claimed that: ( a ) it was the personnel of SKSU's Finance, Administration, and Resource Generation Division and the Information and Communication Technology Office who proposed that the Lakbay Aral participants visit SSSU; ( b ) SKSU President Cambel approved the proposal, and in addition, directed them to visit SDNCAT; ( c ) the participants opted to hold the Lakbay Aral on October 27 to 29, 2010, during the semestral break, in order to avoid the disruption of classes; ( d ) their trip to SDNCAT was cancelled due to bad weather, as advised by the school's Vocational School Superintendent; ( e ) he allowed the use of the money disbursed to them for the participants' food, accommodation, and other incidental expenses due to the honest belief that they were allowed to do so by virtue of Executive Order No. 248 [6] dated May 29, 1995, as amended; ( f ) after the trip, he duly submitted the required liquidation report, together with the receipts, sales invoices, and original copies of the certificates of appearance, to SKSU's internal auditor; and (g) if he intended to misappropriate the Lakbay Aral funds, then he would not have submitted the aforementioned liquidation report. Dapitan's statements were then corroborated by his colleagues, namely Cambel, Edwin Alido, Germin S. Umadhay, Elizabeth Dolor Barbosa, Rahmina K. Gayao, Jacquiline B. Candido, and Mohammad Abdul Bagumbayan. [7] The SB Ruling In a Decision [8] dated October 1, 2020, the SB found Dapitan guilty beyond reasonable doubt of the crime charged, and accordingly, sentenced him to suffer the penalty of imprisonment for an indeterminate period of two (2) years, four (4) months, and one (1) day of prision correccional , as minimum, to six (6) years and one (1) day of prision mayor , as maximum, and to pay a fine in the amount of P50,625.00, representing the total value of the amount malversed, although restituted, with legal interest at the rate of six percent (6%) interest per annum from the date of finality of this Decision until full payment. The SB likewise meted on Dapitan the accessory penalty of perpetual special disqualification from holding any public office, and ordered him to pay the costs. [9] At the outset, the SB ruled that it has jurisdiction over the instant case since Dapitan's position as VP for Finance, Administration, and Resource Generation of SKSU can