The Sandiganbayan has sentenced to one-year imprisonment the former mayor of Dinagat town in Dinagat Island for failing to declare ownership of five motorcycles in her 2007 Statement of Assets, Liabilities, and Net Worth (SALN) in 2007.
The court’s Fourth Division, in a resolution dated Nov. 29, said ex-mayor Gwendolyn Ecleo was found guilty of perjury even if she claimed it was her former husband who purchased the vehicles using her name.
The prosecution presented evidence, including certificates of registration of four Honda Bravo motorcycles and one Honda NF—all placed under Ecleo’s name.
“The motorcycles were purchased by Ecleo on different dates in 2006. As such, they should be declared as among her personal properties in her 2006 SALN, as well as in SALNs for 2007 and 2010,” the decision penned by Associate Justice Reynaldo Cruz said.
“Not only are the CRs of the motorcycles in the name of Ecleo as their owner, their corresponding ORs (official receipts) for the years 2006, 2009, 2010, and 2011 are also still in her name,” the court added.