Town execs get 20 years over unpaid GSIS premiums

MANILA, Philippines — The municipal accountant and treasurer of Pantabangan in Nueva Ecija were sentenced to more than 20 years in prison for failing to remit to the Government Service Insurance System (GSIS) the contributions of an employee.

In a decision promulgated on Friday, the Sandiganbayan found accountant Rosita Yang and treasurer Jorja Palacio guilty of 33 and 26 counts, respectively, of violation of Republic Act 8291 or the Government Service Insurance Act of 1997.

Yang and Palacio were sentenced from one to two years in prison for each count of the offense, and ordered to pay a fine of P330,000 and P260,000, respectively.

The court did not impose any civil liability against the accused as there was no proof showing they took the unremitted amounts or the money was no longer in the municipal coffers.

The anti-graft court earlier dismissed the cases filed against the principal accused, former Pantabangan mayor Romeo Borja Sr., by virtue of his death last year.

The cases against another respondent, former municipal budget officer Johnson Mangalili, were ordered temporarily archived pending his arrest.