Former Puerto Princesa City mayor Edward Hagedorn was found guilty of malversation of public property by the Sandiganbayan 3rd Division Friday and was sentenced to imprisonment of 2 to 7 years.

The malversation case stemmed from a complaint in 2016 by then mayor Lucio Bayron who said that out of 20 units of refurbished armalite rifles issued to and received by Hagedorn as city mayor, only 6 were turned-over at the end of his term in 2013.

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In his counter-affidavit, Hagedorn argued that he did not take the firearms for his personal use and he was still trying to recover the units from his former security personnel while the other units were declared missing.

“Assuming arguendo that the subject firearms were indeed assigned to his security detail and personnel, the same will not prevent the attachment of accountability to accused Hagedorn,” the court said in the decision penned by Associate Justice Ronald Moreno, with the concurrence of Presiding Justice and Division Chairperson Amparo Cabotaje-Tang and Associate Justice Bernelito Fernandez.

The court noted that the prosecution was able to prove that there were three demand letters sent to Hagedorn but he still failed to turnover the subject firearms.

Based on the information filed by the Ombudsman, the value of the subject firearms was pegged at P490,000.

“This failure on the part of accused Hagedorn is already prima facie evidence that he has put such missing funds or property to personal use,” the court said.

Aside from perpetual disqualification from holding public office, Hagedorn was also sentenced to pay a fine of the amount he malversed plus interest.