The Supreme Court (SC) has acquitted a former mayor of criminal liability for unremitted Government Service Insurance System (GSIS) contributions, ruling that, under the Local Government Code (LGC), the duty to remit employee contributions does not fall on mayors.

In a decision penned by Associate Justice Samuel H. Gaerlan, the Court’s Special First Division reversed the Sandiganbayan’s conviction of former Sto. Tomas, Isabela Mayor Antonio M. Talaue, who had been charged with violating the GSIS Act of 1997 over the municipality’s unpaid employee contributions.

The Court held that mayors, designated as “chief executives” under the LGC, are not considered “heads of offices” responsible for remittance duties, clarifying local officials’ administrative responsibilities that ultimately led to Talaue’s acquittal.

FACTS AND ISSUE

The case against Talaue arose from the municipality’s failure to remit GSIS contributions for employees from 1997 to 2003, totaling over PHP 12 million.

After multiple reminders from GSIS, Talaue directed the municipal treasurer to address the issue, but payments were still missed, prompting GSIS to file a collection suit in the Pasay City Regional Trial Court (RTC).

In 2008, the municipality entered into a Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) with GSIS, restructuring the unpaid contributions into a PHP 25.4 million loan to be repaid over ten years.

The Ombudsman nonetheless filed criminal charges against Talaue under the GSIS Act of 1997, claiming he failed to remit contributions as required.

Talaue argued he acted in good faith, believing the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) had withheld funds for this purpose, and maintained that the MOA reclassified the obligation as a civil debt.

The Sandiganbayan convicted Talaue in 2019 and subsequently denied his appeal, prompting him to bring the case to the Supreme Court, which upheld his conviction in 2021.

Talaue then filed a Motion for Reconsideration, arguing the lack of criminal intent, defects in the information, and that the GSIS obligation was civil, not criminal, due to a 2008 Memorandum of Agreement restructuring the debt as a loan.

RULING

The SC granted the motion for reconsideration, reversing the Sandiganbayan’s decision and acquitting Antonio M. Talaue due to the prosecution’s failure to prove guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.

“All told, there was no attempt on the part of the prosecution to show Talaue’ s intent to perpetrate the crime charged. He did not perform any overt act as would exhibit an intent to violate Republic Act No. 8291. Moreover, Talaue was able to adduce proof of specific acts negating or disproving such perpetrative intent on his part. He did not perform any overt acts as would exhibit an intent to commit the crime in question. His conviction must, perforce, be overturned,” the decision read.

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