ALICE R. RAGODON, PETITIONER, VS. PEOPLE OF THE PHILIPPINES, RESPONDENT.
- G.R. Number: G.R. No. 254652
- Promulgated: 2025-08-27
Doctrine
## Facts of the Case Alice R. Ragodon (petitioner), the Disbursing Officer of Romblon National High School (RNHS), was tasked with withdrawing PHP 802,224.19 from the Land Bank of the Philippines (LBP) Odiongan Branch for the salaries of RNHS personnel. The school principal, Faigao, instructed her to convert the cash into a demand draft at the Philippine National Bank (PNB) Odiongan Branch. The standard procedure involved encashing payroll checks at LBP, converting the cash into a demand draft at PNB Odiongan, and then encashing the demand draft at PNB Romblon. On October 14, 2002, petitioner, accompanied by utility worker Lupo Mazo, withdrew the funds from LBP. Instead of proceeding to PNB Odiongan, they went to a relative's residence and stayed until late evening. While on their way to the pier in a trishaw, they were ambushed by armed individuals who forcibly took the cash. Petitioner and Mazo reported the incident to the police. The Commission on Audit began deducting the lost amount from the petitioner's salary in August 2013. The Regional Trial Court (RTC) found petitioner guilty of Malversation of Public Funds, noting her negligent failure to convert the cash into a demand draft. The Sandiganbayan affirmed with modification the penalty, concluding that her failure to follow explicit instructions and her decision to keep the large sum in unsecured circumstances amounted to negligence. Petitioner appealed, contending that she resisted the assailants, was threatened with a firearm, and that customary practice, tolerated by the principal, often involved transporting cash due to bank shortages. ## Issues 1. Did the Sandiganbayan err in finding petitioner guilty beyond reasonable doubt of Malversation of Public Funds? ## Decision / Rationale **Issue 1:** The Court **grants** the appeal and **acquits** the petitioner. The Court held that the prosecution failed to prove beyond reasonable doubt that the loss of funds resulted from petitioner's "abandonment or negligence." Malversation, under Article 217 of the Revised Penal Code, may be committed through appropriation, misappropriation, or by "consent, or through abandonment or negligence, shall permit any other person to take such public funds or property." The term "permit" implies consent or tolerance, not an involuntary surrender under threat or force. The Court emphasized that the law cannot be stretched to criminalize a forced surrender of funds under compulsion of armed robbery. The evidence from both prosecution and defense witnesses consistently showed that petitioner was the victim of a violent robbery where she and her companion were threatened with firearms, necessitating an involuntary surrender of the funds. This indicates that the loss was due to a criminal act, not negligence or collusion on her part. The Court noted that petitioner's deviations from standard procedure, such as not immediately converting the cash to a demand draft, did not amount to criminal negligence. Evidence showed it was a common practice at RNHS for disbursing officers to transport cash directly when demand drafts could not be obtained due to bank shortages, a practice even admitted by prosecution witness Montojo. Furthermore, petitioner cannot be faulted for the assignment of a utility worker as an escort, as this was the principal's decision, and neither the escort nor the school guards were armed, rendering them incapable of resisting armed robbers. Citing **Hernandez v. COA** and **Callang v. COA**, the Court reiterated that hindsight is a cruel judge and a person cannot be faulted for failing to predict every outcome. The gunpoint holdup was a direct cause of the loss and cannot be attributed to petitioner's negligence. The elements of *mens rea* (intent to misappropriate) or inexcusable negligence were not proven beyond reasonable doubt. The administrative measure of salary deductions already addressed the matter. To convict her criminally would be an injustice, punishing a victim of…