HONESTO Baniqued, the former president of the National Agribusiness Corporation (Nabcor), has been convicted by the Sandiganbayan of one count of graft for illegally hiring a consultant without holding a public bidding.
He was sentenced to six years imprisonment with perpetual disqualification from holding public office and ordered to indemnify the Department of Agriculture in the sum of P4.8 million.
Associate Justice and Fifth Division chairperson Rafael R. Lagos penned the 42-page decision, with Associate Justices Maria Theresa V. Mendoza-Arcega and Maryann E. Corpus-Mañalac concurring.
The case stemmed from the hiring of a private lawyer in 2012 as Nabcor’s financial advisor/consultant to assist the agency in negotiating the terms of its P1.676 billion debt with the Philippine Deposit Insurance Corporation (PDIC).
Based on the consultancy contract, the lawyer will receive P10.3 million, with P300,000 to be paid as partial payment, P5 million when the PDIC accepts the debt-restructuring proposal (DRP), and another P5 million once PDIC and Nabcor signed the final DRP.
Prosecutors said the consultant was paid the sum of P4.797 million on July 26, 2012 even if there was no support for the claim, thereby causing the government undue injury.
In convicting Baniqued, the Sandiganbayan noted that the defendant conceded that the engagement of the consultant did not go through the required public bidding, as he admitted that the lawyer was recommended to him by another lawyer friend.
“In light of the established facts, there is no doubt that accused Baniqued acted with manifest partiality when he engaged the services of (consultant) without conducting a public bidding. As president of Nabcor, he is not only expected to know the proper procedure…he is also duty bound to follow the same,” the court declared.
Since Nabcor has already been abolished as a government-owned or controlled corporation, the court said the indemnity cost should be paid to the Department of Agriculture, which had administrative control over the now-defunct agency.
