Sandiganbayan confirms charges of nine ex-PNP officers detained for graft

Graft charges on several officials that previously served for the Philippine National Police (PNP) were sustained by the Special Fourth Division of the Sandiganbayan.

The counsel, led by Associate Justice Michael Musngi, penned a resolution last Monday that denied appeals from Emmanuel Ojeda and Analee Forro to be released.

Ojeda claimed that his involvement in the case was part of his legal obligation as the chairperson of the PNP’s Bids and Awards Committee while Forro claimed that her signature on documents used as evidence did not intend to deceive.

Musngi and his fellow associate justices found the respondents guilty beyond reasonable doubt as it noted that the former officers had an active “participatory role” in the case filed against them.

In the said resolution, officers Ojeda, Forro, Reuel Leverne Labrado, Josefina Dumanew, Victor Puddao, Henry Duque, Warlito Tubon, Eulito Fuentes, and Alex Barrameda were found to defer from standard bidding procedures for parts and repair services of an armored vehicle.

The vehicles in question were Cadillac Gage Commando V-150s that have been used for urban operations of the PNP’s Special Action Force and the Philippine Marines.

The initial case filed on the respondents was for a period of between six years to 10 years, including a restriction on the nine officers from assuming public office.