Former Oriental Mindoro lawmaker Rodolfo Valencia, convicted plunderer Janet Lim Napoles, and two others were found guilty of graft by the Sandiganbayan for the misuse of Valencia’s pork barrel funds totaling P7 million between 2008 and 2009.

In a decision issued on 30 May, Valencia and Napoles were sentenced to up to 30 years in prison for three counts of graft. Meanwhile, former Technology Resource Center (TRC) deputy director general Dennis Cunanan and group manager Maria Rosalinda Lacsamana received sentences of up to 20 years for two counts of graft.

The penalties include perpetual disqualification from holding public office. Only Napoles was ordered to indemnify the government P6.5 million, representing the amount illegally disbursed, as no civil liability was imposed on the others.

The accused were initially charged with three counts each of graft and malversation, along with former Department of Budget and Management (DBM) Undersecretary for Operations Mario Relempagos, budget officer Consuelo Lilian Espiritu, group manager Francisco Figura, and chief accountant Marivic Jover. These charges stemmed from anomalies involving Valencia’s Priority Development Assistance Fund (PDAF), allegedly funneled to a dummy non-government organization controlled by Napoles in exchange for kickbacks.

While all were cleared of malversation charges, only Relempagos, Espiritu, Figura, and Jover were acquitted of graft by the court.

Also acquitted of malversation were paralegal employee Victor Roman Cacal, National Agribusiness Corporation (NABCOR) accounting services officer-in-charge Maria Ninez Guanizo, and director of administrative and finance Rhodora Mendoza.

The case arose after Valencia endorsed Napoles-controlled Masaganang Ani Para sa Magsasaka Foundation Inc. (MAMFI) as the lead implementing agency for his PDAF-funded livelihood projects, bypassing the TRC.

Court records revealed Valencia handpicked MAMFI without proper vetting or a public bidding process, violating the Government Procurement Reform Act (RA 9184).

Investigations later showed that the projects were “ghost” or non-existent despite MAMFI receiving the funds.

“Had such vetting been done, this could have prevented, or at the very least mitigated, the millions in public funds doled out to ghost beneficiaries,” the 173-page ruling read. “It is evident that the big picture or end goal of the scheme was merely to line Napoles’ pockets through sham projects. This smacks of unwarranted benefit.”

The anti-graft court also held the TRC and NABCOR liable for failing to monitor the projects after releasing the funds to MAMFI.

“There were spurious documents fabricated to show how the funds were utilized and that the intended recipients received their kits. These activities were supposed to be closely monitored by implementing agencies TRC and NABCOR, but they utterly failed to do so in this regard,” the court states. 

Since most of the funds were siphoned into MAMFI’s coffers, the court ruled that Napoles should be held liable to indemnify the government P6.5 million.

Napoles, considered the architect of the PDAF scheme, has been serving prison sentences for plunder and graft charges related to the pork barrel scam since 2018. She was acquitted of some graft charges last year.

The PDAF, a lump-sum discretionary fund allocated to members of Congress for projects local governments cannot finance, was declared unconstitutional by the Supreme Court in November 2013 after becoming a source of corruption.

A special report by the Commission on Audit revealed that P6.156 billion worth of PDAF was released to questionable NGOs, including those controlled by Napoles.