The Sandiganbayan convicted three ex-officials of the now-defunct Technology and Livelihood Resource Center and two others over their involvement in the P9.6 million worth of ghost projects funneled through the pork barrel fund of the late Negros Oriental lawmaker Herminio Teves in 2007.

The anti-graft court's Third Division handed down a 68-page decision, which found ex-TLRC deputy director general Dennis Cunanan, ex-TLRC chief accountant Marivic Jover, ex-TLRC legislative liaison office officer-in-charge Belina Concepcion, Teves' then-chief-staff Hiram Pulido and Molugan Foundation Inc. president Samuel Bombeo, guilty of one count each of graft and malversation.

They were sentenced to up to 28 years in prison and perpetually disqualified from holding public office.

They were also ordered to pay the P9.6 million, or the amount malversated with a legal interest of 6 percent per annum.

TLRC's erstwhile department manager Francisco Figura, meanwhile, was acquitted of the same charges.

The Sandigabayan also dismissed the case against the principal accused Teves owing to his passing.

Filed by the Ombudsman in 2017, the graft and malversation charge arose from the disbursement of Teves' P9.6 million Priority Development Assistance Fund or PDAF to Molugan Foundation Inc., a non-governmental organization controlled by Bombeo.

The Ombudsman said Teves "unilaterally chose" MFI as an implementor of his livelihood program drawn from his P10-million pork barrel that was originally intended for the depressed barangays and constituents in his district.

However, state prosecutors probe later revealed that the pork barrel funds were instead used to fund projects that turned out to be a ghost.

Of the total, P9.6 million went to the MFI while P400,000 went to TLRC as a service fee.

The Ombudsman also found that the MFI did not have the capacity to implement the project as it was incorporated only in 2007, the year it was tasked to implement the PDAF project.

Thus, the respondents were accused of causing undue injury to the government by giving unwarranted benefits and advantages to the MFI.

In convicting the accused, the Sandiganbayan said, "There is no doubt that the acts of Concepcion, Cunanan, Jover, Pulido, and Bombeo caused undue injury to the government in the amount of P9,600,000.00, which to date, remains unaccounted for."

The court also ruled that their acts of extending unwarranted benefits to a private party "without the proper accreditation" and the "lack of legal basis" considering it was not one of the implementing agencies identified in the 2007 General Appropriations Act were in violation of COA Circular No. 96-003.

"The totality of the facts and circumstances demonstrates that the said accused, through manifest partiality, gross inexcusable negligence and/or evident bad faith, committed the offense of violation of Section 3(e) of R.A. No. 3019, causing undue injury to the government and giving unwarranted benefits to Bombeo and MFI," the court said.