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A former Bureau of Customs officer was found guilty of failing to declare her business interests in her 2010 SALN
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Delia Morala failed to state that her husband was a real estate firm incorporator and stockholder
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The Manila RTC ordered Morala to pay a P5,000 fine and sentenced her to an indeterminate jail term
A former Bureau of Customs (BOC) operations officer was found guilty of failing to declare her business interests in her 2010 Statement of Assets, Liabilities, and Net Worth (SALN).
The Regional Trial Court (RTC) of Manila found Delia Morala guilty of the charge of falsification by a public officer under Article 171, paragraph 4 of the Revised Penal Code.
The verdict came after the court found Morala had made an “untruthful statement” in her SALN, according to the Department of Finance (DOF).
The court said Morala failed to state that her husband was an incorporator and stockholder of a real estate firm.
The Manila RTC sentenced Morala to a jail term of from two years, four months, and one day as the minimum penalty to eight years and one day as the maximum penalty.
She was also ordered to pay a P5,000 fine.
Morala’s conviction was based on several criminal cases filed against her in 2017 by the Office of the Ombudsman stemming from a complaint from the Revenue Integrity Protection Service (RIPS), DOF’s anti-corruption arm.
The court ruled Morala was guilty beyond reasonable doubt of the crime of falsification by public officer when she answered “No” to the question, “Do you have any interests and other financial connections including those of your spouse and unmarried children below 18 years of age living in your household?” in her 2010 SALN. This was despite the fact that her husband Mariano was a stockholder and incorporator of Moravilla Real Estate Corp.
The prosecution was able to present evidence that Mariano was one of the incorporators and stockholders of Moravilla Real Estate Corp. with a Certificate of Incorporation issued on January 27, 2010 and Articles of Incorporation executed on January 15, 2010.
Given this, the court said Delia Morala was legally bound to declare this in her 2010 SALN.
In her defense, Morala claimed not to know that the real estate firm existed and that her husband was an incorporator and stockholder of the company because they were already separated at that time.
The court, however, was unconvinced because the accused failed to present proof to back up her statements.
It also noted that Morala feigned lack of knowledge about the existence of Moravilla Real Estate Corp. despite the fact that the address of the company’s principal office and that of their conjugal home were the same.
