FORMER Quezon congressman and Department of Agriculture secretary Proceso Alcala has been acquitted by the Sandiganbayan of graft and malversation of public funds citing the failure of the government prosecutors to prove key elements of the criminal offenses as charged.
However, the anti-graft court’s First Division said that Alcala’s failure to monitor the implementation of his livelihood program funded by his Priority Development Assistance Fund (PDAF) or “pork barrel” allocations amounted to negligence that caused undue injury to the government.
For this, he was pronounced civilly liable and was ordered to pay the government P6,050,000 with six percent yearly interest upon finality of the decision until fully paid.
Associate Justice and First Division chairperson Efren N. de la Cruz penned the 89-page decision promulgated on March 20. 2023 with Associate Justices Geraldine Faith A. Econg and Arthur O. Malabaguio concurring.
Based on the information filed in 2019 by the Office of the Ombudsman, Alcala was accused of involvement in the unlawful transfer of P6.05 million from his PDAF to the Economic and Social Cooperation for Local Development Foundation Inc. (Ecosoc), a non-government organization (NGO) without public bidding.
Also indicted as his co-defendants were his chief of staff Claron Alcantara, Social Welfare assistant secretary Mateo Montaño, and private defendant Roberto Solon, executive director of Ecosoc.
Graft investigators said the fund transfer happened in two tranches, with P1.95 million released in March 2007 and P4.1 million in June 2007.
Under the program, 50 farmer beneficiaries were supposed to receive capital assistance in cash amounting to P120,000 each.
However, verification by state auditors revealed none of the 50 farmer families confirmed receiving any sum from Ecosoc.
The audit team said 32 executed affidavits stating that they did not receive even a single centavo, 10 turned out to be deceased, six did not give any statement and two could not be traced in their supposed addresses.
The Sandiganbayan however said Alcala’s endorsement of Ecosoc to undertake his PDAF-funded projects was merely recommendatory.
It said the responsibility over the release of the PDAF were on the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) and Ecosoc which weakens the theory of conspiracy among the accused.
The court held that the former lawmaker’s function was limited to monitoring that the project was being implemented properly.
“This Court is of the view that the acts of Alcala and Alcantara in signing the said documents are not sufficient to prove unity of action and purpose between and among their co-accused beyond reasonable doubt,” the Sandiganbayan said.
But despite being cleared of criminal liability, the court said Alcala can still be held civilly liable.
“The Court reiterates that although it found accused Alcala not to have acted with evident bad faith, manifest partiality or gross inexcusable negligence, the said accused acted with negligence which caused undue injury to the government in the amount of P6.05 million which DSWD released to ECOSOC,” it added.
