The Supreme Court (SC) has rejected the appeal of former Corella town mayor and current councilor Vito Beltran Rapal, who was convicted of four counts of graft, estafa and failure to render accounts.
Rapal was accused of pocketing public funds meant for the protection of the Philippine tarsier and failing to liquidate his cash advances.
The SC affirmed the decision of Sandiganbayan, which sentenced Rapal to up to 22 years in prison and ordered him to pay back the money he stole from the municipal government.
Rapal was also disqualified from holding public office.
The SC said that Rapal’s petition was filed late, defective and unfounded.
The SC fined Rapal P10,000 for filing a frivolous petition and directed the clerk of court to issue an entry of judgment.
The SC also informed the Office of the Ombudsman, the Department of the Interior and Local Government, and the Commission on Elections about its decision.