A private supplier charged with graft in the P3.25 million fertilizer scam in 2004 pleaded guilty to a lesser offense of fraud and was allowed to pay the government only one-third of the amount allegedly embezzled.
Kevin Apostol, representative of Akame Marketing International, entered into a plea bargaining agreement with the prosecution, authorizing him to plead guilty to a lesser offense of fraud against the public treasury instead of graft.
Plea bargaining agreement is permitted by the court. It enables the accused and the prosecution to reach a mutual decision, consenting the former to plead guilty to a lesser offense or serve a lower sentence than the original crime charge subject to the court’s discretion.
But if an accused pleaded not guilty to an offense charged, he/she can still be allowed to plead guilty to a lesser offense if he/she withdraws the plea of not guilty after the arraignment but before reaching the trial.
In a resolution released on Tuesday, the Sandiganbayan granted Apostol’s appeal, as the prosecution did not object to his pleading.
Apostol was originally charged with one count of graft in connection with the alleged anomalous procurement of 2,164 bags of fertilizer to the tune of P3,246,000 million from Akame in April 2004.
He was named co-accused of former Eastern Samar now 4Ps Rep. Marcelino Libanan and former governor Clotilde Salazar, who were slapped with one count and two counts of graft, respectively.
The prosecution said the provincial government purchased the fertilizers from Akame despite it not being registered with the Fertilizer and Pesticide Authority, making it an ineligible government supplier. Court records also showed that the transaction transpired without the mandatory public bidding in violation of the Government Procurement Reform Act (RA 9184).
Apostol offered the court that he would just pay P1,082,000, or one-third of the P3.25 million, instead of facing trial for graft, which he could be meted out up to 10 years in prison.
“Had accused Kevin Apostol been found guilty as a co-principal, or of conspiring with his other remaining co-accused, he would have been solidarily liable for the entire amount of P3,246,000,” the resolution read.
But since the Ombudsman, which filed the charges, did not object to Apostol’s plea, he was allowed to restitute only the amount of P1,082,000, which constitutes his proportionate share in the case.
“The Office of the Ombudsman and the prosecution, having given their consent, and Frauds Against the Public Treasury under paragraph 1 of Art. 213 of the Revised Penal Code, being a lesser offense necessarily included in Violation of Sec. 3(e) of Republic Act No. 3019, the Court may approve the subject Plea-Bargaining Agreement and allow accused Kevin Apostol to plead guilty to the said lesser offense,” the court ruled.
Apostol previously entered a plea of not guilty when he was arraigned in February. But his withdrawal of the plea of not guilty enabled him to plead guilty to a lesser offense of fraud.