The Sandiganbayan has found three ex-officials of the now-defunct Technology and Livelihood Resource Center guilty of graft and malversation over the unlawful release of P4.8-million pork barrel fund of ex-Palawan lawmaker Antonio Alvarez to a non-government organization in 2007.

In a 72-page decision handed down on Monday, the Sandiganbayan First Division convicted ex-TLRC deputy director general Dennis Cunanan, ex-sales and promotion supervisor Belina Concepcion, and ex-chief accountant Marivic Jover up to 28 years behind bars for one count each of graft and malversation.

The anti-graft court also ordered the respondents to return to the government with 6 percent annual interest the P4.8 million, or the amount believed to have been malversed.

The raps against the erstwhile TLRC officials involved their alleged role in the release of P4.8 million of Alvarez's Priority Development Assistance Fund or pork barrel to the Kalinga sa Kapwa at Kalikasan Foundation Inc. for the lawmaker's livelihood projects in 2007.

They were accused of giving unwarranted benefits, privileges and advantages to KKKFI that caused undue injury to the government.

Based on the charges, Cunanan, Jover and Concepcion, with their co-accused, ex-TLRC director general Antonio Ortiz, "unilaterally accepted" KKKFI as a "project partner" in the PDAF-funded livelihood projects of Alvarez, which were later found to be a non-existent or ghost.

According to the Sandiganbayan, Concepcion issued the memorandum recommending the release to KKKFI of Alvarez's PDAF, while Cunanan, Javier and Ortiz facilitated, processed, and approved the disbursement voucher without thoroughly examining and verifying the foundation's accreditation and qualification and the transaction's supporting documents.

In convicting the ex-officials, the court determined that they "manifest partiality, evident bad faith or gross inexcusable negligence" for allowing the "anomalous disbursement" of P4.8 million to KKKFI despite that NGOs as implementing arms of the PDAF projects were not authorized under the 2007 General Appropriations Act.

"It is the TLRC/TRC that is identified in the 2007 GAA as one of the agencies authorized to implement PDAF projects. Moreover, at the time material to these cases, there was no appropriation law earmarking an amount to be specifically contracted out to NGOs like the KKKFl," the anti-graft court said.

Alvarez, the principal accused, evaded charges in relation to the crime, as the Ombudsman junked the allegation against him in March 2018, after granting his plea for reconsideration.