Sandigan convicts 4 execs over pork
The erstwhile TLRC officials were slapped with two counts of graft, one count each of malversation of public funds and malversation of public funds through falsification.
Daily TribuneThe erstwhile TLRC officials were slapped with two counts of graft, one count each of malversation of public funds and malversation of public funds through falsification.
The Sandiganbayan convicted four ex-officials of the now-defunct Technology and Livelihood Resource Center over their involvement in the P5.4-million pork barrel fund scam utilizing the Priority Development Assistance Fund or PDAF of ex-Davao del Sur lawmaker Marc Douglas Cagas IV in 2008, intended for development projects, which was later found to be non-existent or "ghost."
In a 106-page ruling handed down over the weekend, the Sandiganbayan Third Division convicted ex-TLRC deputy director general Dennis Cunanan, ex-group manager and legislative liaison officer Maria Rosalinda Lacsamana, ex-budget officer Consuelo Lilian Espiritu, and ex-chief accountant Marivic Jover.
The erstwhile TLRC officials were slapped with two counts of graft, one count each of malversation of public funds and malversation of public funds through falsification.
Detention time
The anti-graft court meted up to 47 years imprisonment for all the cases.
On top of the conviction, the Sandiganbayan ordered each to pay a fine of P5.4 million or the amount malversed plus interest.
In 2022, the Sandiganbayan found the principal accused Cagas guilty of the lesser offenses of fraud against the public treasury, failure of the accountable officer to render accounts and falsification. He was sentenced to up to two years in prison.
The Ombudsman initially charged the ex-lawmaker with four counts of graft, three counts of malversation of public funds, and malversation of public funds through falsification of public documents before he entered into a plea bargain agreement with the Office of the Special Prosecutor in 2021, where he pleaded guilty to the lesser offense.
The Sandiganbayan later allowed his P12.95-million payment in restitution.
His father, the late Davao del Sur Governor Douglas Cagas, who also served as congressman of the province, was also charged by the Ombudsman with two counts of graft, two counts of malversation, and one count of direct bribery before the Sandiganbayan. He died of Covid-19 in 2021.
Meanwhile, the charges against the other co-accused, ex-TLRC director general Antonio Ortiz, and private individuals Arnolfo Reyes and Aileen Carrasco have been ordered archived pending their arrest.
Filed by the Ombudsman, the case pertained to the allocation of P5.4 million channeled through Cagas's P6-million Priority Development Assistance Fund or PDAF to Farmer Business Development Corporation, a non-government organization for the livelihood and development projects for barangays in his district in 2008.
However, the probe revealed that the projects were non-existent.
Cunanan, Lacsamana, Jover, and Espiritu were the signatories to the disbursement vouchers.
Records showed that Cagas "unilaterally chose" and "endorsed" the FDC as a "project partner," notwithstanding that it was unaccredited and unqualified to undertake the projects.
Foundation caused injury to gov't
The Sandiganbayan said that Cagas and the TLRC officials acted with manifest partiality, evident bad faith, and gross inexcusable negligence for giving unwarranted benefits to the foundation that caused undue injury to the government.
In convicting the four ex-TLRC officials, the Sandiganbayan said the prosecution was able to prove that they conspired with each other and the other accused in violating the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act (RA 3019), Article 217 in relation to Article 171 of the Penal Code, and Article 217 of the Revised Penal Code.
"As culled from the records, accused Cunanan, Lacsamana, Espiritu, and Jover committed the following overt acts, which completed their grand scheme, which was to embezzle from the government," the Sandiganbayan said.
It added, "Under these given facts, there can be no question that the accused acted in concert to attain a common purpose. Although some appear to be innocent, their respective actions summed up to collective efforts to achieve the common objective, which was to embezzle from the government the amounts of P600,000 and P4,800,000."
