THE Sandiganbayan has convicted three former officials of the state-run Technology and Livelihood Resource Center (TLRC) for malversation of public funds and graft arising from the illegal disbursement of P4.8 million worth of government money to an unqualified non-government organization (NGO).
Meanwhile, three officials of the Department of Agriculture face graft investigation for their alleged involvement in the manipulation of onion prices in 2022, the Department of Justice (DOJ) said on Friday.
Sentenced to long prison terms were ex-TLRC Deputy Director General Dennis Cunanan, chief accountant Marivic Jover, and sales and promotion supervisor Belina Concepcion, They were each given 1o to 18 years of incarceration for malversation of public funds, plus six to 10 more years of jail time for graft.
In addition, they were perpetually banned from holding public office.
In a 72-page decision dated October 9, the Sandiganbayan said these individuals allowed the transfer of P4.8 million of public funds, a discretionary fund or pork barrel of former Palawan Representative Antonio Alvarez, to NGO Kalinga sa Kapwa at Kalikasan Foundation, Inc. (KKKFI) without reviewing the grantees qualifications and without public bidding.
“With the individual and collective actions of accused Cunanan, Concepcion and Jover, the funds were illegally released to KKKFI. The release of the PDAF (Priority Development Assistance Fund) would not have been possible if not for the signatures and individual participation of the accused in the said transaction,” the anti-graft court ruled.
“In these cases, the prosecution has sufficiently established that the PDAF funds released to [NGO] KKKFI (Kalinga sa Kapwa at Kalikasan Foundation, Inc.) amounting to P4.8 million for the implementation of the livelihood projects of the First District of Palawan remain unliquidated and that the livelihood project was never implemented,” the Sandiganbayan pointed out.
“Accused Cunanan should not have merely relied on the findings of the other TLRC/TRC officials as he should have personally verified the documents attached in the disbursement voucher. It is [also] evident from the records that even the duty to monitor the implementation of the livelihood project was not done by accused Cunanan, Concepcion and Jover,” the Sandiganbayan said.
“Accused Concepcion should have reached out to KKKFI for the status and updates on the project upon the release of the funds, but did not. Accused Cunanan, Concepcion and Jover clearly likewise flagrantly disregarded their duties and responsibilities under the existing laws,” the anti-graft court added.
Likewise, the Sandiganbayan said that the prosecution was also able to prove that Cunanan, Concepcion, and Jover gave unwarranted benefits and advantage to KKKFI when it was selected as the project partner of TLRC because it was selected as the project partner on the basis of a mere endorsement letter from the legislator and without the required public bidding and proper accreditation.
“The prosecution was able to prove beyond reasonable doubt the existence implied conspiracy between the accused as evidenced by their respective acts and participation in the transaction,” the anti-graft court said.
“The Court is ·convinced that the acts of the accused were so connected and related and with the common aim of defrauding the government by allowing KKKFI to serve as a project partner of TLRC in the absence of public bidding and the required accreditation under COA (Commission on Audit) Circular No. 96-003,” the anti-graft court noted.
Apart from imprisonment Cunanan, Concepcion, and Jover were ordered to jointly and severally pay the government, through the Bureau of Treasury, P4.8 million with yearly interest of six per cent starting from the finality of the decision until full satisfaction.
Those facing graft investigation for their alleged involvement in the manipulation of onion prices last year were Agriculture Assistant Secretary Kristine Evangelista, Agribusiness and Marketing Assistance Service officer-in-charge Junibert de Sagun, and Bureau of Plant Industry officer-in-charge Gerald Glenn Panganiban.
Justice Secretary Jesus Crispin Remulla said besides administrative cases, the trio will face complaints for violation of the graft law.
Senior Deputy State Prosecutor Richard Fadullon confirmed Remulla’s disclosure, saying the charges against the agriculture officials will be referred to the Office of the Ombudsman.
In September, the National Bureau of Investigation recommended the filing of complaints against several individuals over alleged manipulation of onion prices.
Justice Undersecretary Geronimo Sy, head of the investigation task group on agri-smuggling, said the possible complaint stemmed from a private cooperative selling onions for over P500 per kilo in December 2022.
“And this is now the basis for hoarding and profiteering. Because they initially said there were no stocks, that there was nothing available, but when contracted at P500 plus, they suddenly had some,” he said.
“Profiteering, because the farm gate prices of onion, the cost of production, is from only between P8 to P15. But it was sold for P537. So that is the twin crimes of hoarding and profiteering,” the DOJ official said.
Last year, onions were from P500 to P720 in some markets across the country.
It went up from P140 on September, P280 on November, P300 on December 12 to 16, P380 on December 19 to 23, and P720 on December 28.
In January, the DA gave the green light for the importation of 21,060 metric tons of onions to fill a supply gap and arrest the continuous spike in the price of the commodity in the domestic market.
The importation consisted of 3,960 metric tons of fresh yellow onions and 17,000 metric tons of fresh red onions.
Remulla said their investigation does not end with the filing of the complaints against certain people.
“The noose is tightening. We expect warrants of arrest to be (issued) once we file these in the courts. We are still finalizing the charges,” Remulla said.
“We’re talking about thousands of pages of testimony and documentation coming from the congressional committee, submitted officially through the congressional committee. We expect this to be properly acted upon by the courts once filed,” Remulla pointed out.
