Published July 3, 2021, 12:25 PM
Sandiganbayan
The Sandiganbayan has acquitted former Mayor Rodrigo M. Wenceslao of Merida town in Leyte of two graft and 20 malversation charges.
In a decision, the anti-graft court ruled that the prosecution failed to properly identity and authenticate the documentary evidence it presented to establish Wenceslao’s guilt.
The court stressed that no evidentiary weight can be given to the photocopies or certified true copies of the disbursement vouchers that were merely marked and offered but were never presented during trial.
“Be that as it may, even if the Court would give weight to the disbursement vouchers, the prosecution still has not sufficiently established the element of appropriation, taking or misappropriation of public funds through falsification of public document,” the decision written by Associate Justice Ronald B. Moreno stated.