FOR favoring certain suppliers in the award of procurement contracts, a former regional secretary of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR)-Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) has been found guilty of 16 counts of violation of the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act (RA 3019).
In a 50-page decision penned by Associate Justice Sarah Jane T. Fernandez, the anti-graft court’s Sixth Division sentenced Sultan Usman Tantao Sarangani to imprisonment of six to seven years for each count of the criminal offense.
Associate Justices Kevin Narce B. Vivero and Karl B. Miranda concurred.
However, the court acquitted the accused on 16 separate charges of illegal direct or indirect financial interest in the winning suppliers in the procurement of office supplies and equipment defined under Section 3 (h) of the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act.
Based on the criminal information filed in 2023, the Office of the Ombudsman accused Sarangani of conspiring with co-accused ARMM Regional Accountant Nanayaon Dibaratun in the anomalous award of contracts totaling P3.51 million to suppliers Iftizah Ayezah Enterprises and Ashley Ventures, both reportedly owned by Dibaratun.
In declaring the remaining defendant guilty as charged, the court noted that evidence showed that only the two suppliers identified with Dibaratun received the invitations to bid or the canvass while the third bidder, Crisma General Merchant, either did not exist or was excluded on purpose when the invitations were sent out.
Likewise, the Sandiganbayan held that there was evidence of circumvention of the rules requiring public bidding, particularly in breaking down the procurement into 16 smaller contracts.
“The fact that the purchases of various office supplies and equipment were split into 16 separate transactions within three months – a relatively short period – shows the intent to circumvent the requirement of public bidding. Had the competitive bidding been conducted, other suppliers would have been given a chance to participate,” the Sandiganbayan said.
