The Office of the Ombudsman on Thursday ordered the dismissal of nine executives from the National Council for Muslim Filipinos, Department of Agrarian Reform and the chief for political affairs of former senator Gregorio Honasan for their involvement in the Priority Development Assistance Fund and Malampaya fund scams.
The anti-graft court convicted NCMF Secretary Mehol Sadain, acting chief accountant Fedelina Aldanese, Director III Galay Makalinggan, Sania Busran, Aurora Aragon-Mabang, and Olga Galido; as well as Michael Benjamin, Honasan’s political affairs chief.
Sadain, a former commissioner in the Commission on Elections, was appointed NCMF secretary in 2012 by former President Benigno Aquino III.
Ombudsman Conchita Carpio Morales also ordered their perpetual disqualification from holding public office.
Sadain and company “participated in the preparation, processing and approval of the memorandum of agreement and the PDAF documents governing the project implementation and fund releases to Focus Development Goals Foundation, as non-government organization-partner,” the Ombudsman resolution read.
The Ombudsman found that in April 2012, the Department of Budget and Management released P30 million as part of Honasan’s pork barrel funds to the NCMF as implementing agency.
The fund was intended to finance small and medium-scale enterprises or livelihood projects for the benefit of Muslim Filipinos in communities in Metro Manila and Zambales.
In June 2012, Honasan endorsed Focus Development as the NGO-partner even if it did not comply with procurement regulations.
The Ombudsman said a check dated May 30, 2012 and a disbursement voucher approving the payment “were prepared by public respondents in favor of Focus Development even before the NGO was informed that it was found qualified to undertake the project on 04 June 2012; before a memorandum of agreement was signed by the Office of Senator Honasan, NCMF and Focus; and before Honasan authorized the release of funds to Focus.”
The Ombudsman said Honasan and the rest of the accused facilitated and approved the payment in favor of Focus via two tranches totaling P29.1 million.
In a separate decision, the Ombudsman also ordered the dismissal from the service of DAR officials Teresita Panlilio and Ronald Venancio.
The two were among the 25 respondents facing two counts of plunder and multiple graft and malversation charges after the Ombudsman established their indispensable acts of participation in the illegal diversion of P900 million from the Malampaya funds.
The P900 million was downloaded to DAR and distributed to 12 NGOs of pork barrel scam queen Janet Lim Napoles.
Ombudsman investigators found that the fund was used to implement ghost projects as the documents were all fictitious and there were no deliveries of agricultural kits or packages.