CRIMINAL charges have been filed at the Sandiganbayan against former Quezon City Rep. Mari Grace Preciosa Hipolito-Castelo and nine others in connection with the alleged anomalous handling of cash assistance for government workers during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The separate complaints for graft and estafa through falsification of official/public documents signed by Graft Investigation and Prosecution Officers (GIPO) Randolph Nicolas, Michelle Villabesa, and Voltaire Africa alleged that the former lawmaker and her co-accused pocketed “a substantial portion” of the P1.09 million Tulong Panghanapbuhay sa Ating Disadvantaged/Displaced Workers (TUPAD) from the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE).
Indicted with Castelo were her political affairs officer Maria Theresa Encallado, and volunteer/coordinators Elizabeth Martinez, Norie Valerio, Leonora Bernardo, Anabelle Ocfemia, Edilbert Valerio, Emma Agraan, Eliseo Hermoso, Jacquelyn Sales, and Rosalie Buena.
Prosecutors said the DOLE released the TUPAD funds between November 2020 to September 2021, but the assistance never reached the intended beneficiaries in Barangays Batasan Hills, Commonwealth, and Holy Spirit in Quezon City.
“(Defendants) using deceit, false pretense, or fraudulent act, did then and there unlawfully and feloniously defraud the government by submitting or causing the submission of falsified documents… when in truth, accused knew fully well that the beneficiaries did not render any service and instead, accused collected for themselves a substantial portion of the wages from each beneficiary,” the prosecution said.
Among the documents found to have been fabricated were letters of intent, TUPAD work programs, lists of beneficiaries, and daily time records (DTRs).
Based on the bogus documents, the DOLE processed and released the TUPAD sums through the Palawan Express Remittance Center totaling P1,090,110.
Nicolas recommended that bailbonds for the defendants be set at P90,000 for the graft case and P36,000 for the estafa charge.
Listed among potential witnesses for the prosecution were National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) assistant director Jose Doloiras and Ombudsman lawyers Rose Vallejo and Jinky Anarna.
