NON-compliance with the provisions of procurement laws does not automatically amount to a violation of the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act (RA 3019), the Sandiganbayan Third Division has said as it acquitted 11 former and active ranking officials of the Pamantasan ng Lungsod ng Maynila (PLM) of a graft charge.
Cleared by the anti-graft court were former PLM president Benjamin Tayabas, Dean Domingo B. Nuñez, college vice president and Bids and Awards Committee (BAC) chairperson Virginia Santos, vice president for finance and planning Angelita Solis, supply officer Alfredo Ferrer Jr., budget officer Cecilia Calma, financial management officer Angeles Ramos, Professor Eloisa Macalinao, Professor Lawrence Villanueva, Professor Felix Aspiras, and Assistant Professor Albert S. dela Cruz.
Associate Justice Bernelito R. Fernandez penned the 40-page decision promulgated July 28, 2023 with concurrences from Presiding Justice Amparo M. Cabotaje-Tang and Associate Justice Ronald B. Moreno.
“To establish a prima facie case for violation of Section 3 (e) of R.A. 3019, the prosecution must show not only the defects in the procurement procedure but also the alleged evident bad faith, gross inexcusable negligence, or manifest partiality on the part of the accused,” the court declared.
In the 2017 indictment, the Office of the Ombudsman charged the defendants with graft in connection with alleged irregularities attending the purchase of a service vehicle worth P1.114 million in 2006.
Prosecutors said the procurement did not undergo the required public bidding and gave unwarranted preference to Hyundai Quezon Avenue which supplied the Hyundai Starex GRX with rotating third-row seats.
