Graft raps dismissed vs Oroquieta water exec

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THE Sandiganbayan Sixth Division has ordered the dismissal of five graft charges filed five years ago against a former official of the Oroquieta City Water District (OCWD) after the counsel of the accused informed the court that his client died from COVID-19 last year.

In a resolution released this week, Associate Justices Sarah Jane T. Fernandez, Karl B. Miranda, and Kevin Narce B. Vivero held that the cases against defendant Ricardo Ravacio, former general manager of OCWD, could no longer proceed because of his death.

The court likewise lifted the warrant of arrest and the hold departure order previously issued against Ravacio as well as the release of his cash bond to his widow.

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It also declared the lawyer-client relationship between accused and his counsel officially terminated, relieving the latter of his duties.

The Office of the Ombudsman filed graft cases in 2017 against Ravacio, former OCWD Board of Directors chairperson Evelyn Catherine Silagon and other water district officials over alleged anomalous releases of agency funds.

Prosecutors said public funds were traced going into the personal bank accounts of Silagon and her children while the rest of the defendants participated in approving transactions, including the hiring of a public relations consultant, without public bidding.

At the same time, a cash release amounting to P1.433 million was approved by Silagon and Ravacio as payment for themselves without indicating the nature and specifications of the said expense.

However, on July 7, 2021 defense lawyer Virgilio Ocaya petitioned the anti-graft court to dismiss the cases against Ravacio notifying the Sandiganbayan that his client died after he contracted COVID-19.

A copy of the Certificate of Death issued by the Philippine Statistics Authority was submitted to the court on November 25, 2021.

“In view of accused Ravacio’s death, the Court grants Atty. Ocaya’s Motion to Dismiss. As prayed for, SB-17-CRM-0254 to 0257, and 0260 are hereby dismissed as to accused Ravacio,” the court declared.

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