Ex-CamNorte governor gets four years jail

MANILA: A brother of action star Robin Padilla was sentenced to four years and two months in prison by the Sandiganbayan's 1st Division recently for failing to return a gun issued to him by the police in 1992.

Former CamNorte Governor Casimiro "Roy" Padilla Jr was found guilty of malversation of public property over the missing .45 caliber pistol that was issued to him by the Philippine National Police.

Aside from imprisonment, Padilla was banned from holding any office in government.

The anti-graft court also fined Padilla P200 and ordered him to pay another P200 to the PNP, with interest.

The decision was penned by division chairman Associate Justice Efren Dela Cruz. Associate Justices Rodolfo A. Ponferrada and Rafael R. Lagos concurred with the ruling. 

Padilla is allowed by law to file a motion for reconsideration.

He earlier said he already returned the gun to Senior Police Officer 4 Lorenzo V. Calibara, who was police provincial supply officer. 

PNP records after Calibara's death, however, did not reflect Padilla's claim.

A .45 caliber pistol turned over to the police that has the same serial number as the handgun issued to Padilla was only a home-made replica, according to Chief Insp. Daniel Antonio Lomboy, deputy chief of the Firearms Identification Division of the PNP Crime Laboratory. – ABS-CBN