22/11/2025
PUBLIC OFFICIALS' UNEXPLAINED WEALTH PRESUMED ILL-GOTTEN AND FORFEITABLE—SUPREME COURT
The Supreme Court (SC) ruled that properties acquired by a public officer during their years in government service that clearly exceed their lawful income are presumed ill-gotten and may be subjected to forfeiture in favor of the government even if held under the names of other individuals.
In a 27-page ruling authored by Associate Justice Japar Dimaampao, the SC's Third Division upheld the Sandiganbayan’s rulings ordering the forfeiture of real estate, bank deposits, and investment accounts linked to retired Lt. Gen. Jacinto Ligot, as well as assets traced to him but registered under his wife, children, and other relatives.
Ligot served in the Armed Forces of the Philippines as a commissioned comptroller from 1970 until his retirement in 2004. After he died in 2024, his family continued to question the inclusion of some condominium units among the forfeited properties.
A lifestyle check conducted by the Office of the Ombudsman by reviewing his Statements of Assets, Liabilities, and Net Worth (SALN) from 1982 to 2003 determined that Ligot's funds and properties, approximately valued at P135 million, were acquired unlawfully. This prompted the government to initiate a petition for forfeiture before the Sandiganbayan in 2005.
The civil forfeiture case mentioned the role of his wife, children, and his sister and brother-in-law, who were allegedly used as fronts to conceal his assets.
In its 2021 ruling, the Sandiganbayan granted the petition and declared the properties amounting to P102 million and the investment funds amounting to P53.8 as having been unlawfully acquired and subject to forfeiture.
Aside from that, also included in the forfeiture case are properties that were raw land in Tanay, Rizal, worth P2 million; a unit in Essensa East Forbes Condominium Lawton Tower worth P25 million; Armed Forces and Police Savings and Loan Association funds amounting to P7.4 million; a building in Malaybalay City worth P6.7 million; and two houses in California worth P33 million each.
The anti-graft court also found condominium units in Makati City listed under his sister’s name, for which most amortization payments were made by General Ligot and his wife, and a unit in Taguig City registered under his brother-in-law, which had originally been purchased by Ligot’s wife.
Aggrieved, this paved the way for General Ligot’s sister and brother-in-law to question the Sandiganbayan ruling before the Supreme Court, emphasizing that they owned the questioned condominium units.
In dismissing the petition, the high court cited Republic Act No. (RA) 1379, which provides that disproportionate wealth acquired by a public officer during their tenure is presumed ill-gotten unless satisfactorily explained.
It clarified that this presumption applies not only to properties under the public officer’s name but also to those hidden or transferred to others, as long as true ownership can be traced to the public officer.
The SC underscored that General Ligot’s children did not have their own independent sources of income, indicating that he was the true owner, even if the legal titles were in his children and kin's names.
“Undoubtedly, the amassed wealth worth P53,852,941.13 is manifestly disproportionate to the family's lawful income and is presumed unlawfully acquired under Republic Act No. 1379,” the Supreme Court stressed.
