THE Court of Appeals has absolved Quezon City Councilor Roderick Paulate and three others in the administrative case involving ghost employees in his office during his first term in 2010.
In a 17-page decision, the CA’s Fifth Division through Associate Justice Stephen Cruz granted the petition of the actor-turned-politician and set aside the dismissal order issued by the Office of the Ombudsman in February last year against him, former councilor and 1st district Rep. Francisco Calalay Jr. and two staff members.
The appellate court overturned the findings of the anti-graft office that Paulate, Calalay, Vicente Bajamunde and Flordeliza Alvarez were guilty of falsification of official documents, serious dishonesty, grave misconduct and conduct prejudicial to the best interest of the service.
The CA ruled the Ombudsman failed “to adequately prove any link between petitioners and the alleged illegal transaction.”
The appellate court instead ruled that Paulate and other petitioners were able to prove that they had no hand in the commission of the alleged irregularities.
“They may have signed and issued certifications in furtherance thereto. However, they merely relied in good faith on their subordinates. Further, there was no substantial evidence to prove that petitioners planned and conspired to defraud the government and benefit therefrom,” the CA decision stated.
In the assailed ruling, the Ombudsman decision haD found Paulate and Calalay guilty of hiring non-existent people for contractual jobs during their 2010 term as councilors.
Calalay disbursed P2.175 million for the ghost employees, while Paulate disbursed P1.125 million, according to the Ombudsman.
A ghost employee, according to corporate observers, is someone recorded on the payroll system, but who does not work for the business and the fraud attacks the payroll system with false employees.