The Sandiganbayan has convicted a former president of a non-governmental organization run by plunder convict Janet Lim-Napoles for defrauding the government of P3.5 million in pork barrel funds.

In a 35-page decision handed down on 9 October, the anti-graft court’s Seventh Division found that Evelyn de Leon, president of the Philippine Social Development Foundation Inc. (PSDFI), is guilty of two counts each of graft and malversation of public funds. 

De Leon will face up to 38 years of imprisonment in addition to being fined P3.5 million, equivalent to the sum embezzled subject to a 6 percent annual interest.

The case pertains to the alleged irregularities in the release of Cagayan de Oro City Rep. Rufus Rodriguez’s Priority Development Assistance Fund (PDAF) in the amounts of P1.5 million and P2 million in November 2007 and February 2008, respectively.

Court records showed that the Technology Resource Center (TRC), the implementing agency of Rodriguez’s PDAF, transferred P1.35 million and P1.8 million to PSDFI after deducting 10 percent as service management and cost of learning materials.

However, the prosecution said that “not a smidgen” of Rodriguez’s P3.5 million PDAF made its way to any legitimate government project.

According to the Sandiganbayan, De Leon acted in cahoots with TRC director general Antonio Ortiz, who approved the fund disbursement in favor of the PSDFI, by preparing and signing all liquidation reports for the project implementation.

The court said De Leon took and misappropriated the funds through Ortiz. 

“Through their concerted acts, the aggregate amount of P3.5 million under the two SAROs was misappropriated from the government when no project implementation was fully liquidated as to its intended purpose. De Leon, through her fraudulent and malicious acts on behalf of PSDFI, is criminally liable therefor,” the court ruled.

“De Leon knew she was defrauding the government, whether for her own personal benefit or not. She intended to defraud the government with every signature she affixed to divert funds intended for imagined ‘marginalized farmers’ into PSDFI, the NGO that De Leon represented,” it added.

The PSDFI was selected as a project partner following Rodriguez’s recommendation without public bidding. State auditor Joan Agnes Alfafaras, however, said it was merely recommendatory and that the competitive bidding still falls under TRC’s responsibility.

The Special Team of Investigators recommended filing the same criminal cases against Rodriguez, Napoles, and other TRC officials, but the Ombudsman only directed the filing of the raps against De Leon and Ortiz, who remain at large.

Rodriguez had previously denied receiving kickbacks from Napoles. 

In 2022, he was cleared by the Commission on Audit, which conducted a special report concerning the multi-million PDAF after finding that his signature on pork barrel-related documents was forged.