FORMER Misamis Occidental Rep. Loreto Leo Ocampos and two executives of a non-government organization (NGO) have been convicted by the Sandiganbayan of multiple criminal charges in relation to irregularities in the release of the lawmaker’s Priority Development Assis-tance Fund (PDAF) or pork barrel funds in 2013.
The anti-graft court’s Second Division found Ocampos and Rich Islas de Filipinas Foundation Inc. (RIDFFI) officers Josefina Candole and Jamie Ann Linsangan guilty of violation of the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act (RA 3019), malversation of public funds, and falsification by a public officer.
They were sentenced to jail terms of six to ten years for the graft case, with perpetual disquali-fication from holding public office and civil liability in the sum of P2.1 million payable to the Bu-reau of Treasury; four to ten years for malversation with a P2.1 million fine; and two to eight years for falsification with a P5,000 fine each.
Associate Justice Edgardo M. Cadona penned the 31-page Decision promulgated on June 10, 2025, while Presiding Justice Geraldine Faith A. Econg and Associate Justice Arthur O. Mala-baguio concurred.
Based on the cases filed in 2022 by the Office of the Ombudsman, the lawmaker’s PDAF was released by the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) to the National Commission on Muslim Filipinos (NCMF) which then transferred the money to the RIDFFI in February 2013.
Prosecutors said the private foundation was an unqualified and bogus NGO, adding that despite receiving P2.1 million in taxpayers’ money, it failed to implement the anti-poverty projects.
While the documents submitted made it appear that the NGO distributed 350 business starter kits for raising native chickens to Ocampos’ constituents, the Field Investigation Office of the Ombudsman and government auditors secured sworn statements from the named beneficiaries that not one chicken was delivered and no hands-on training and entrepreneurship seminars were held.
Ocampos however issued a Certificate of Completion attesting that the NGO performed its obli-gations in the Memorandum of Agreement.
NCMF secretary Mehol Sadain and director for finance Galay Makalinggan were also indicted, but Sadain was acquitted on insufficiency of evidence to show his participation, while the cases against Makalinggan were dismissed on account of his death in July 2021.
In ruling to convict, the Sandiganbayan held that the evidence established that the PDAF-funded project never materialized and the documents submitted by the accused attesting to its com-pletion were all bogus.
“The only conclusion that can be derived from their testimonies point to the fact that none was ever implemented and the allocated funds were expended on a ghost project, thereby giving unwarranted benefits and advantage to RIDFFI which in turn inflicted damage on the govern-ment,” the court declared.
It said the actions of the defendants “manifest a deliberate intent” to misappropriate the law-maker’s PDAF allocation “through a deceptive scheme of implementing a fake project.”
“The manner by which the entire undertaking has been consummated undeniably shows a well-designed scheme involving the three accused to project a legitimate transaction that would serve as a cover-up to facilitate or achieve their common ultimate goal of siphoning public funds for their personal benefit,” the court added.
