Roderick Paulate found guilty of graft, falsification of documents

Actor-comedian Roderick Paulate was sentenced to 62 years in prison after being found guilty by the Sandiganbayan of graft charges and nine counts of falsification of public documents.

The charges filed in 2018 were in connection with Paulate's hiring of fictitious job contractors or "ghost employees" in 2010 while he was serving as councilor in Quezon City.

In a 130-page decision promulgated on 25 November, the Sandiganbayan Seventh Division also ordered Paulate to pay a fine of P10,000 for each of the nine counts of falsifying documents.

Paulate was accused of forging job order contracts for those hired, as well as issuing certifications twice a month attesting that the contractors rendered 40 hours of work per week.

The former councilor and his driver Vicente Bajamunde drew jail sentences of from 10 and a half years to 62 years. Paulate's office received P125,000 every payday or a total of P1.109 million, according to court records.

The court found that the actor-politician designated his then-driver Bajamunde as a liaison officer in receiving the wages of the job contractors.

"It bears noting that the job order contracts and general payrolls are deemed falsified documents because the job contractors subject therein do not exist. Accused (Paulate) maintained their existence and thus, to overcome the prosecution's claim, accused only needed to prove that they exist," the court said.

"Unfortunately, he failed in this respect," the decision penned by Associate Justice Zaldy Trespeses added.

The court said Paulate took advantage of his position and used the documents to obligate public funds and disburse them.

"It can safely be concluded that he was the author of the falsification or asked somebody else to prepare the falsified documents," the decision read.

It was later found out that the names entered by Paulate as employees have no birth records, NBI application, or school records, and their addresses could not be located.