The Sandiganbayan Sixth Division has convicted Datu Andal Ampatuan of 21 counts of graft over the supply of fuel to the Maguindanao provincial government from a petroleum station he owned.
The anti-graft court sentenced Ampatuan—one of the perpetrators of the infamous Maguindanao massacre—to between 6 years and 1 month to 10 years for each of the 21 counts, or between 127 years and 9 months to 210 years in jail in total.
Ampatuan’s conviction coincides with the 14th anniversary of the Maguindanao massacre.
The massacre on Nov. 23, 2009 was described as the worst violent election-related incident in country’s history. Fifty-eight people were murdered then, 32 of which were members of the media.
The incident occurred during the filing of the certificate ofcandidacy of then-Buluan town vice mayor Esmael “Toto” Mangudadatu who ran against Datu Unsay Mayor Andal Ampatuan Jr. for governor post in the 2010 elections.
Ampatuan was also ordered to pay up to P44.18 million as value of the undelivered fuel plus interest of 6 percent per annum and is perpetually disqualified from holding public office.
The case stemmed from the Maguindanao provincial government’s decision to buy diesel fuel from Ampatuan’s petrol station in Shariff Aguak when his father was still the governor in 2008.
Reports said the court found that he conspired with his father, thelate Andal Ampatuan, Sr. and several government officials to award the contract for the purchase of fuel to his petroleum station without any bidding and in releasing public funds despite no completely delivery of the goods purchased.
“[T]he Shariff Aguak Petron Station charged the Provincial Government of Maguindanao for the purported deliveries of a total of 1,141,539 liters of Petro Diesel in 2008. However, it could not have delivered the said quantity of fuel products because in the same year, Petron Corporation delivered only 618,000 liters of diesel fuel to accused Ampatuan, Jr.’s Petron station.”
“Even assuming that Shariff Aguak Petron Station still had fuel left from year 2007, it could have delivered only 649,000 liters at most,” the court said.
The fuel products were supposed to be used in road rehabilitation projects but the COA special audit team found that none of these projects were completed.
Aside from Ampatuan, his two co-accused Omar Camsa and Samsudin Sema were also ordered to pay up to P1.6 million and P9.12 million each as part of the value of the undelivered fuel.
Camsa was found guilty of one count of falsification of public document and sentenced to between 6 to 7 years jail time and fined P5,000.
Sema was also found guilty of 3 counts of the same charge and sentenced to a total of between 18 to 21 years and fined P15,000.
Camsa and Sema attended the promulgation while Ampatuan attended via videoconference.
He is currently serving a sentence for multiple counts of murder in connection with the Maguindanao massacre.
Another accused, Datuali Kamakan Abpi, was also found guilty of one count of graft, 19 counts of falsification and one count of malversation in connection with the Maguindanao provincial government’s purchase of lumber.
But the anti-graft court asked prosecutors to confirm Abpi’s reported death, as well as that of another accused at large, Osmeña Bandila.