THE Office of the Ombudsman on Wednesday indicted ex-Nueva Ecija governor Aurelio Umali over a P15-million pork barrel fund scam.
In a 38-page resolution, Ombudsman Conchita Carpio-Morales ordered the filing of four counts of graft and three counts of malversation against Umali before the Sandiganbayan.
Also included in the complaint were Janet Lim Napoles, now detained at the Correctional Institute for Women in Mandaluyong City for serious illegal detention; agriculture officials Renato Manantan, regional executive director, and Narcisa Maningding, accountant, and private individuals Anita Tansipek and Corazon Bautista of the Samahan ng mga Manininda ng Prutas sa Gabi Inc.
Ombudsman investigators found Umali and the other respondents liable for the anomalous use of his Priority Development Assistance Fund in 2005.
Umali, a former Nueva Ecija’s District 3 representative, was accused of facilitating the mishandling of his P15-million pork barrel fund for the acquisition of irrigation pumps and fertilizers.
The agricultural implements were supposed to benefit his constituents in Laur, Gabaldon, Bongabon, Santa Rosa, General Natividad and Cabanatuan City.
Apart from the criminal indictment, Umali and Manantan were found guilty of grave misconduct, gross neglect of duty and conduct prejudicial to the best interest of the service and were ordered dismissed from the service.
They were also meted the accessory penalties of perpetual disqualification from holding public office and forfeiture of retirement of benefits.
“In case of separation from the government service, the penalty shall be convertible to a fine equivalent to respondents’ one year salary,” the Ombudsman said.
In 2005, Umali identified and endorsed the Samahan ng mga Manininda ng Prutas sa Gabi Inc. and Masaganang Ani Para sa Magsasaka Foundation Inc. as nongovernment organization-partners.
To implement the project, the Department of Agriculture downloaded P12 million to MAMFI and P3 million to the Samahan ng mga Manininda ng Prutas sa Gabi Inc.
Respondents made it appear that the funds were used to purchase 7,920 bottles of liquid fertilizers and 15 irrigation pumps.
During in-depth validation, the Ombudsman field investigators found that “there was no real purchase at all since the liquid fertilizers had been sourced from another Napoles company, Nutrigrowth Philippines.”
Similar findings of “ghost projects” were confirmed insofar as the alleged purchase of irrigation pumps.
The Ombudsman found the fund usage was riddled with irregularities such as the foundations’ lack of credentials and track record to implement multimillion-peso projects, absence of market survey and identification of product standards for the agricultural implements, absence of public bidding, usage of undated and unnumbered disbursement vouchers and lack of delivery of irrigation pumps to the intended beneficiaries.
“To be able to divert substantial funds from the PDAF and the Agriculture and Fisheries Modernization Program funds, access had to be made available, and this was made possible by Umali who chose MAMFI and the Samahan to implement his livelihood projects,” the resolution read.
“Umali likewise signed the project proposals and indorsed said NGOs to facilitate the release of the funds to them.”
According to Morales, “the funds in question could not have been transferred to said NGOs if not for their certifications, approvals, signatures found in the disbursement vouchers and checks.”