Charges vs. village chief dropped following death

The Office of the Ombudsman-Visayas dismissed the administrative and criminal case filed against the barangay captain of Langub, Sta. Fe town, Cebu, following the latter's death.

Jorge Rosos, barangay chief of Langub, was slapped with two cases for violation of the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act after allegedly failing to pay his debt to Juditha Rayco and her husband.

Rayco alleged that on November 22, 1999 respondent borrowed P400,000 from her and her husband to finance his construction business. Rosos' business reportedly won the bidding for the construction of three classrooms in different elementary schools in Daanbantayan town.

Rosos agreed to pay within seven days from the release of the budgetary allocation the entire amount plus an interest of P110,000 totaling his debt to P510,000. The respondent, Rayco said, even executed a confirmation receipt regarding the amount he borrowed.

Being one of the sponsors of their wedding, the couple agreed.

However, Rayco said, Rosos after sometime, only paid them P180,000. And despite repeated demands, the barangay captain did not pay the remaining balance which as of the filing of the case had already amounted to P330,000.

In his counter-affidavit, Rosos admitted having borrowed P400,000 from the Raycos but denied having used the amount in connection with government classroom projects. He also denied executing a confirmation receipt.

Rosos maintained that his transaction with the couple was purely a private matter and that he had already paid them, "only some documents have still to be executed concerning the same."

"With the death of herein respondent, this case has therefore become moot and academic pursuant to Art. 89 of the Revised Penal Code on how criminal liability is extinguished that enumerates death as among the grounds by which criminal liability is extinguished," stated graft investigator Cynthia Sibi in her three-page resolution for the criminal case. The same findings were stated in the decision, she also penned, for the administrative aspect of this same case. - Liv G. Campo