Ex-Davao del Norte youth official pleads guilty in gov’t vehicle misuse case

MANILA, Philippines – The oft-repeated line that the youth are the “hope of the motherland” took an ironic turn in the anti-graft court Sandiganbayan after a former youth representative to Davao del Norte’s provincial board admitted responsibility for allowing unauthorized people to use a government-owned vehicle that was wrecked in crash in 2023. 

The former official, Emerson Dave Silutan, had been charged with graft, but later pleaded guilty to a lesser offense. He was a Sangguniang Kabataan (SK) president from Tagum City and ex-officio member of Davao del Norte’s legislature. 

The 1st Division of the Sandiganbayan convicted Silutan of failure to render accounts as an accountable officer, a downgraded charge from the original graft case, and then fined P3,000.

The decision came after Silutan paid P1.85 million to the provincial government for an Isuzu D-Max pickup truck that was declared a total loss following a crash on March 1, 2023.

The Office of the Ombudsman had originally filed a graft case against him in 2025, alleging that Silutan permitted two unauthorized people, James Warren and Patrick de Mabanding, to use the government vehicle. 

Prosecutors said the pickup was taken from the capitol’s fleet at about 4 am, outside regular office hours, when the crash happened. They said the actions constituted “manifest partiality, evident bad faith or gross inexcusable negligence.”

Silutan had initially entered a not guilty plea during his arraignment on October 13, 2025. The defense subsequently moved to pursue plea bargaining after trial proceedings began and the prosecution presented Davao del Norte Governor Edwin Jubahib as a witness. 

In a motion dated January 29, 2026, Silutan asked the court to allow him to withdraw his earlier plea and admit guilt to a lesser offense. Jubahib, representing the provincial government, agreed on the condition that restitution be paid in cash, which Silutan later complied with.

The anti-graft court subsequently ordered the lifting of the hold departure order against Silutan and the release of his bail bond. – Rappler.com