Anti-graft court affirms jail term of Palawan collector in malversation case

MANILA, Philippines – The anti-graft court Sandiganbayan has upheld the ruling of a Palawan court convicting a municipal revenue collection officer from Quezon town and sentencing her to up to 14 years in prison for embezzling P1.9 million in public funds she had collected.

The 7th Division of the Sandiganbayan, in a 15-page decision on April 28, stood by the ruling of the Regional Trial Court (RTC) Branch 165 in Brooke’s Point, Palawan, that found Marilou Relova guilty of malversation of public funds. The regional court meted her a 10- to 14-year imprisonment sentence on August 22, 2025. 

Relova, 61, told the regional court of her intention to appeal the decision as she sought provisional liberty while her appeal was pending, citing her age and ailment, and years of government service to appeal that she be allowed to bail out. 

Judge Ramon Chito Mendoza denied the motion, ruling that the penalty exceeded six years and noting the gravity of the offense committed by an accountable public officer entrusted with public funds.

Relova was immediately committed to the Iwahig Prison and Penal Farm to serve her sentence.

In her petition for certiorari, Relova asked the Sandiganbayan to consider humanitarian grounds, saying she was already a senior citizen with Type 2 diabetes. She also said she should not be treated as a flight risk, citing her limited financial means after 37 years of working for a small rural municipality and her consistent attendance at all court hearings.

Prosecutors said that since the penalty imposed exceeds 10 years, the grant of bail was discretionary for the trial court. It added that the reasons raised by Relova did not automatically justify the approval of her request for bail.

The anti-graft court said Relova failed to submit duplicate originals or certified true copies of the assailed RTC order, a required filing that constitutes a fatal defect in form. It also stressed that invoking the court’s liberality cannot cure defects in a petition.

“All told, the RTC did not commit grave abuse of discretion amounting to lack or excess of jurisdiction. Its assailed Orders, having considered relevant circumstances and followed established jurisprudence, are not arbitrary and illogical, and thus, should stand,” read part of the Sandiganbayan’s decision. – Rappler.com