Conspiracy of silence and inaction

EN BANC
[G.R. No. 81563. December 19, 1989.]
AMADO C. ARIAS, petitioner, vs. THE SANDIGANBAYAN, respondent.
[G.R. No. 82512. December 19, 1989.]
CRESENCIO D. DATA, petitioner, vs. THE SANDIGANBAYAN, respondent.
Paredes Law Office for petitioner.

"SYLLABUS

1. REMEDIAL LAW; EVIDENCE; CONSPIRACY; PROOF OF EXISTENCE THEREOF. C A conspiracy need not be proved by direct evidence of the acts charged, but may and generally must be proven by a number of indefinite acts, conditions and circumstances (People vs. Maralit, G.R. No. 71143, Sept. 19, 1988; People vs. Roca, G.R. No. 77779, June 27, 1988).

2. ID.; ID.; ID.; ESTABLISHED BY THE SILENCE AND INACTION OF ACCUSED. C This case presents a conspiracy of silence and inaction where chiefs of office who should have been vigilant to protect the interest of the Government in the purchase of Agleham's two-hectare riceland, accepted as gospel truth the certifications of their subordinates, and approved without question the million-peso purchase which, by the standards prevailing in 1976-78, should have pricked their curiosity and prompted them to make inquiries and to verify the authenticity of the documents presented to them for approval. The petitioners kept silent when they should have asked questions; they looked the other way when they should have probed deep into the transaction. Since it was too much of a coincidence that both petitioners were negligent at the same time over the same transaction, the Sandiganbayan was justified in concluding that they connived and conspired to act in that manner to approve the illegal transaction which would favor the seller of the land and defraud the Government.

3. ADMINISTRATIVE LAW; STATE AUDIT CODE OF THE PHILIPPINES; ASPECTS OF THE AUDITIONAL FUNCTION OF AN AUDITOR. C The primary function of an auditor is to prevent irregular, unnecessary, excessive or extravagant expenditures of government funds. The auditorial function of an auditor, as a representative of the Commission on Audit, comprises three aspects: (1) examination; (2) audit: and (3) settlement of the accounts, funds, financial transactions and resources of the agencies under their respective audit jurisdiction (Sec. 43, Government Auditing Code of the Phil.). Examination, as applied to auditing, means "to probe records, or inspect securities or other documents; review procedures, and question persons, all for the purpose of arriving at an opinion of accuracy, propriety, sufficiency, and the like." (State Audit Code of the Philippines, Annotated by Tantuico, 1 982 Ed., p. 57.)

4. REMEDIAL LAW; SPECIAL CIVIL ACTION; EMINENT DOMAIN; TAX DECLARATION; A GUIDE OR INDICATOR OF THE REASONABLE VALUE OF THE PROPERTY. C The acquisition of Agleham's riceland was not done by expropriation but through a negotiated sale. In the course of the negotiations, there was absolutely no allegation nor proof that the price of P80 per square meter was its fair market value in 1978, i.e., eleven (11) years ago. What the accused did was to prove the value of the land through fake tax declarations (Exhs. B, F, K), false certifications (Exhs. J, D and E) and a forged sworn statement on the current and fair market value of the real property (Exh. Z) submitted by the accused in support of the deed of sale. Because fraudulent documents were used, it may not be said that the State agreed to pay the price on the basis of its fairness, for the Government was in fact deceived concerning the reasonable value of the land. When Ocol testified in 1983 that P80 was a reasonable valuation for the Agleham's land, he did not clarify that was also its reasonable value in 1975, before real estate values in Pasig soared as a result of the implementation of the Mangahan Floodway Project. Hence, Ocol's testimony was insufficient to rebut the valuation in Agleham's genuine 1978 Tax Declaration No. 47895 that the fair valuation of the riceland then was only P5 per square meter. A Tax Declaration is a guide or indicator of the reasonable value of the property (EPZA vs. Dulay, 149 SCRA 305).

5. ID.; EVIDENCE; PARTIALITY; MAYBE PROVEN BY ATTENDANT CIRCUMSTANCES IN THE ABSENCE OF DIRECT EVIDENCE. C Partiality for Agleham/Gutierrez may be inferred from their having deliberately closed their eyes to the defects and irregularities of the transaction in his favor and their seeming neglect, if not deliberate omission, to check, the authenticity of the documents presented to them for approval. Since partiality is a mental state or predilection, in the absence of direct evidence, it may be proved by the attendant circumstances."