Ex-N. Samar OIC gets 14 years for P18,050 graft

MANILA, Philippines -  A former acting governor in Northern Samar has been sentenced to a maximum of 14 years in prison for failing to return two guns and a motorcycle worth P18,050 in 1987.

In a 16-page resolution released yesterday, the Sandiganbayan Fourth Division found former Northern Samar officer-in-charge John Kam guilty of malversation of public property.

Kam was also ordered perpetually disqualified from holding public office and to pay a fine of P18,050.

Based on the case filed by the Office of the Ombudsman in 1995, Kam failed to return a .38-caliber Smith and Wesson revolver, a Bingham revolver and a Yamaha motorcycle despite repeated demands.

Kam’s successor Harlin Abayon filed the complaint in 1994, when the former acting governor was the provincial health officer.

The anti-graft court said Kam could not be exculpated from liability even though he returned the government properties in 2001 because the trial of the case was ongoing.

“When Kam had been called to account for the properties he received, he could not produce the same. His liability for malversation went into effect from the time a demand or accounting had been made,” the ruling penned by Associate Justice Alex Quiroz read.

Associate Justices Reynaldo Cruz and Geraldine Faith Econg concurred with the ruling.

The court has yet to decide on the motion for reconsideration that Kam filed.