A SPECIAL Division of the Sandiganbayan has affirmed the conviction of four officers of the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) in connection with irregularities in the procurement of mobile phone cards (cellcards) worth P6.04 million in 18 separate transactions over a 10-month period in 2014.
Separate motions for reconsideration filed by Commanders Rommel Supangan, Joselito Quintas, and William Arquero and Capt. Ramon Lopez seeking reversal of the January 13 decision were denied by the anti-graft court.
Associate Justice Arthur O. Malabaguio penned the 13-page majority resolution with Associate Justice Oscar C. Herrera Jr. and Presiding Justice Amparo M. Cabotaje-Tang concurring.
Associate Justices Michael Frederick L. Musngi and Bayani H. Jacinto dissented. Both also earlier voted to acquit all the accused in the assailed decision.
Supangan and Arquero were convicted of one count each of violation of RA 9184 or the Government Procurement Reform Act and were sentenced to six to 10 years imprisonment.
Lopez, who was found guilty on two counts of the same offense, is facing 12 to 20 years while Quintas was sentenced to 18 to 30 years.
Based on the charges filed in 2018, the defendant Coast Guard officers resorted to splitting of contracts by breaking up purchases into several suppliers even if there was only one purchase request, so that none of the amounts reached the threshold amount of P500,000.
In Supangan’s case, the disbursement voucher for P899,700 was divided into three: P292,800 and P297,750 to Xycel Marketing Corp. and P399,150 to Flyhigh Telecom. All three transactions happened in just five days from Feb. 12 to 17, 2014.
Arquero also divvied up a P930,000 disbursement voucher into three: two P390,000 purchases from Communication Quest International on April 28 and 29, 2014; and P150,300 to Fone Kard Station on April 30, 2014.
Lopez handled two disbursement vouchers worth P752,400 and P788,400. These were both chopped into two transactions of P362,000 and P374,000 both with Xycel Marketing; and P390,000 and P414,000 with Communication Quest International.
On the part of Quintas, the three disbursement vouchers were for P955,200; P925,280; and P788,410. These were also chopped up into three transactions each with all of the resulting nine purchases falling below the threshold limit of P500,000 which would have made public bidding a mandatory requirement.
The P955,200 was divided into P323,500 and P352,500 awarded to Communication Quest International and P279,200 to Fone Kard Station.
