PENRO engineer indicted for estafa

CEBU, Philippines -  After finding probable cause, the Ombudsman has indicted an employee of the Provincial Environment and Natural Resources Office (PENRO) for estafa for her alleged failure to reimburse the money intended for the survey of two parcels of land.

Graft Investigation and Prosecution Officer II Cynthia Maturan-Sibi held Engineer 1 Evelyn Rosal for trial after she failed to negate the allegations filed against her.

"From the facts of this case vis-à-vis the afore-quoted provision and jurisprudence, it is clearly established that respondent can be made liable for estafa. Respondent received the money from complainants for the contracted survey and, obviously, the amount is susceptible of appropriation," the resolution reads.

Sibi said that the failure of Rosal to make true her promise to reimburse the remaining balance of P14,200 makes the elements of the offense charge present.

Fabian Vergel and Leo Lanza, residents of Barangay Tipolo and Barangay Guizo, Mandaue City, respectively, representing Tipolo Urban Poor Dwellers Associations, Inc. (TUPDA, Inc.) and Assist Community Environment Organization, Inc. (ACEO, Inc.) sued Rosal before the Office of the Ombudsman-Visayas.

In their complaint, they alleged that from July 11, 2004 until July 22, 2005, they gave a total of P16,200 to Rosal, who acted as representative of a certain Geodetic Engineer Wilson Bacatan for the survey of two parcels of land located at Sitio Maharlika, Tipolo, and Sitio Santa Cruz, Guizo in Mandaue City.

The complainants said that considering they did not hear from Rosal, their respective associations wrote to Rosal on November 3, 2005 to submit their contracted survey plans and other pertinent documents to the Department of Environment and Natural Resources-7 for verification and approval.

But since no survey was ever done, the complainants sought the assistance of Engineer Alfredo Icoy, head of the Survey Division of the DENR-7. Rosal was called for a dialogue with them but the former did not appear.

The complainants said that on December 8, 2011, Rosal's daughter, engineer Ruby Rosal, gave them P2,000 as partial reimbursement of the P16,200 which they have given to Rosal.

However, since Rosal failed to reimburse the P14,200 remaining balance, they lodged a complaint before the Office of the Ombudsman.

Sibi directed Rosal to file her counter-affidavit but she failed. Thus, she resolved the complaint based on the evidence of the complainants and found sufficient evidence to file the case before the court.   (FREEMAN)