The Sandiganbayan has rejected the appeal of Encarnita Cristina Munsod, a former official of the now-defunct National Agribusiness Corp. (Nabcor), who sought to dismiss her graft case involving the alleged irregular procurement of P99 million worth of post-harvest facilities.
Munsod, Nabcor’s former human resources and administrative manager, filed a petition with the Sandiganbayan to reconsider its February decision.
In that ruling, she was sentenced to a maximum of eight years in prison for violating Section 3 (e) of the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act (RA 3019).
In a resolution dated June 24 but made public only on Tuesday, the Sandiganbayan Third Division affirmed its earlier decision, stating that there were “no compelling reasons to amend, alter, revise, or reverse its ruling.”
“At the onset, the arguments posed by movant-accused Munsod, in her motion, have already been thoroughly considered by this court in the assailed decision of 23 February 2034,” the court said.
Munsod, along with other Nabcor officials, were sued for giving unwarranted preference to Agri Component Corporation (AgriCom) for the purchase of post-harvest facilities and equipment, including a rice mill, flatbed dryer, shed and storage, crop threshers, rice harvesters or reapers, among others to the tune of P99.9 million without any competitive bidding.
Graft investigators said there was an overpayment of at least P12 million because Nabcor released the full payment to AgriCom despite the undelivered status of some of the post-harvest equipment.
In her motion, Monsod contended she was not in cahoots with her peers at Nabcor since she neither prepared the disbursement vouchers nor was responsible for any document attached to them.
Therefore, she claimed that she did not commit inexcusable negligence or give unwarranted benefit or advantage to AgriCom.
The Sandiganbayan, however, did not buy Monsod’s explanation, asserting that her conspiratorial acts and omissions with other Nabcor officials, which were instrumental in carrying out the transaction, eventually resulted in AgriCom receiving unwarranted benefits.