Abadia convicted for false SALN

Manila, Philippines - The Sandiganbayan sentenced yesterday former Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) chief of staff retired Gen. Lisandro Abadia to a maximum of 366 days in jail after he was convicted of perjury for falsifying his statement of assets.

The anti-graft court’s First Division, in a 24-page decision, found him guilty of perjury for falsely claiming that he earned more than P2.5 million from the sale of a real estate property in 1992.

Records of the case showed that Abadia made the false claim in his Statement of Assets, Liabilities and Net Worth (SALN) in 1992.

Abadia’s false claims in his SALN were uncovered after the Office of the Ombudsman investigated the former AFP chief for alleged unexplained wealth.

The Sandiganbayan said Ombudsman prosecutors, led by Director Diosdado Calongre and Assistant Special Prosecutor III Ma. Janina Hidalgo, were able to prove that the retired military general made a willful and deliberate assertion of falsehood.

The prosecution was able to establish during the trial that the property owned by Abadia in Dumlog, Talisay in Cebu was actually sold in 2002 as proven by the testimony of an impartial and credible witness presented by the government lawyers.

Prosecutors were even able to prove that the property was actually sold for only P200,000 based on a Deed of Absolute Sale dated Sept. 30, 2002.

After evaluating all evidence presented against Abadia, the Sandiganbayan said the statement made by the accused in his 1992 SALN that his family earned P2,550,000 from the sale of a real property “is a falsehood.”

“With the presence of all the elements of the offense charged, as the prosecution was able to discharge its burden to prove the guilt of the accused beyond reasonable doubt, this Court is constrained to render a verdict of conviction,” read the decision penned by Associate Justice Rodolfo Ponferrada.

“Proof beyond reasonable doubt does not mean such degree of proof as to exclude the possibility of error and produce absolute certainty,” the Sandiganbayan explained.

“Proof beyond reasonable doubt requires only a moral certainty or that degree of proof which produces conviction in an unprejudiced mind; it does not demand absolute certainty and the exclusion of all possible error,” said the ruling, with which First Division chairman Efren de la Cruz and Associate Justice Rafael Lagos concurred.