EIGHT former officials of the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) are facing lengthy vacations in the slammer after they were convicted by the Sandiganbayan on multiple counts of violation of the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act and estafa through falsification of public documents.
Former assistant director Florendo Arias, accountant Rogelio Beray, fiscal controller Ricardo Juan, supply officer Mirope Fronda, Napoleon Anas and Jesus SJ Cruz, and private defendants Janette Bugayong and Victoria Maniego-Go were found guilty of repeatedly defrauding the government by falsifying repair records on various vehicles in the DPWH fleet between 2000 to 2001.
The court sentenced them to six to eight years imprisonment for each count of graft with a P5,000 fine per case and perpetual disqualification from holding public office for the DPWH officials.
In the estafa charges, they were meted two years and four months to 10 years for each count and told to jointly pay civil liability equivalent to the cost of each transaction or a combined amount of P1.9 million.
Beray, who was pronounced guilty on all 41 counts of graft, received a total sentence of 249 years on top of another 95 years for the 41 charges of estafa and a P205,000 fine.
Anas and Juan were each convicted on 38 counts of both offenses with each ending up with 184 years for graft and 88 years for estafa.
Fronda was held guilty for 31 counts of both charges, Arias in 22 counts, Maniego-Go in 23 counts, Bugayong in 15 counts, and Cruz in seven counts.
The cases were part of a widespread scam in the DPWH uncovered by State Auditor Linda Marasigan between 2002 to 2012.
Prosecutors said they traced some 4,406 bogus transactions that cost the government more than P82 million.
In convicting the accused, the court held that the accused public works officials and the traders “mutually aided one another” to bleed the DPWH by claiming, processing and paying the phantom repairs.
“The accused, all joined in a web of conspiracy, devised a way to rob the government, one fake emergency purchase at a time. Funds were continuously flushed out of the government coffers with nowhere to go but the concerted effort to brook the claims for reimbursement,” the Sandiganbayan Seventh Division said.
