THE Sandiganbayan Seventh Division has convicted former Lapu-lapu City mayor Arturo Radaza and two other city officials and nine executives of the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) Region 7 for graft in connection with an P83.94 million lamppost deal in 2006.
Also found guilty of the same offense was private defendant Isabelo Braza, president of FABMIK Construction and Equipment Supply Co. Inc., which was awarded the contract.
In a 174-page decision penned by Associate Justice Georgina D. Hidalgo, the anti-graft court sentenced the accused to six to 10 years imprisonment and perpetually disqualified from holding public office.
Associate Justices Ma. Theresa Dolores C. Gomez-Estoesta and Zaldy V. Trespeses concurred.
Convicted together with Radaza and Braza were city engineer Julito Cuizon and engineer Rogelio Veloso, DPWH 7 regional director Robert Lala, assistant regional director and Bids and Awards Committee (BAC) chair Marlina Alvizo, maintenance division chief Pureza Fernandez, BAC and Technical Working Group (TWG) members Agustinito Hermoso, Luis Galang, and Cresencio Bagolor, and DPWH Region 7 TWG members Ayaon Manggis, Marilyn Ojeda, and Teresa Bernido.
The case filed by the Office of the Ombudsman in 2008 charged the defendants with conspiracy to give FABMIK advantage and to defraud the government by padding the cost of the contract in relation to the 2007 Asean Summit.
A report submitted by a special audit team led by state auditor Alfredo Torrequemada that reviewed the Asean Summit Projects of DPWH Region 7 formed the core of the government’s case.
While denying that FABMIK was given preferential treatment, accused DPWH and local government officials cited urgency and shortage of time as factors in negotiating the contract with Braza’s firm.
However, the Sandiganbayan said there was no valid proof submitted to establish that there was a credible danger to lives, destruction of properties, or loss of vital services that warranted non-compliance with the requirement for public bidding.
“Heavy workload, or even extraordinarily heavy and urgent workload, is not one of the exceptions under the [Government Procurement Reform Act or RA 9184]. To rule otherwise would be tantamount to amending the law by crafting an exception that does not exist in the statute,” the Sandiganbayan declared.
In handing down the guilty ruling, the court noted that the invitation to bid and the notice to bidders were not posted on the Philippine Government Electronic Procurement System (PhilGEPS) or in any public sites required by RA 9184.
Likewise, the Sandiganbayan noted that Braza’s own evidence, a letter dated August 25, 2006 from his supplier Valmont, showed he had prior information about the cost of the contract and the specifications of the project — months before the supposed Notice to Bidders on November 10, 2006.
The letter alluded to months-long negotiations on the specifications of lampposts that will be used and referred to FABMIK’s “customer” which the court identified as DPWH Region 7.
“The scheme employed by herein accused screams of a dishonest purpose, moral obliquity, and conscious doing of a wrong; and on the part of herein accused public officials and employees, a breach of a sworn duty through some motive or intent or ill will in favor of FABMIK,” the Sandiganbayan said.
Moreover, the court highlighted the uncanny likeness between FABMIK’s detailed estimates and the DPWH program of work and estimates (POWE).
