A supposed executive of a bogus private foundation used as a conduit to siphon off millions in government cash through the pork barrel scam has been acquitted by the Sandiganbayan of one count of violation of the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act and two counts of malversation of public funds.
The anti-graft court’s Fourth Division held that there is insufficient evidence to establish the direct participation of Marilou Ferrer, project coordinator for Kapuso at Kapamilya Foundation Inc. (KapKFI), in the alleged mishandling of P6.8 million from the Priority Development Assistance Fund (PDAF) allocations of the late Negros Occidental Rep. Ignacio “Iggy” Arroyo.
The cases, filed in 2022, alleged a conspiracy between Ferrer and officials of the National Agribusiness Corp (Nabcor), a government-owned or controlled corporation (GOCC) tapped as implementing agency for Arroyo’s PDAF-funded projects for his district.
Named co-accused from Nabcor were its former president Alan Javellana, Administrative Services manager Romulo Relevo, and director Rhodora Mendoza. They were accused of causing undue injury to the government and of giving unwarranted benefits and advantages to KapKFI.
After evaluating all the evidence, however, the Sandiganbayan said it found reasonable doubt, which left it no other recourse but to render an acquittal in favor of Ferrer.
“The allegation of conspiracy against her arose from her signature in the MOA [memorandum of agreement], disbursement vouchers, receipts, and other liquidation documents. Other than these documents, no other evidence was presented to support the claim of conspiracy,” the court noted.
The 28-page decision was penned by Associate Justice Lorifel Lacap Pahimna while Associate Justices Michae Frederick L. Musngi and J. Ermin Ernest Louie R. Miguel concurred.
Citing the Supreme Court pronouncement in the case of Arias v. Sandiganbayan, the Fourth Division said there was an absence of convincing evidence that Ferrer had a “knowing, personal, and deliberate participation” to support the prosecution’s allegation of conspiracy between her and the other defendants.
“Here, no evidence was presented that would suggest commonality of criminal design or any participation of Ferrer in the planning or preparation of the alleged conspiracy. Neither did the investigation yield any evidence that Ferrer benefited from the subject transactions,” the Sandiganbayan added.
During her testimony in her defense, Ferrer said she only finished secondary level or high school education and did not know enough to understand the contents of the papers she was asked to sign.
She said that at the time she signed them, she was employed not by the NGO but by Kaunlaran Trading as established by her personal documents, including her identification cards from Social Security System and PhilHealth.
“Thus, there is reasonable doubt as to Ferrer’s active and deliberate participation in the conspiracy. The prosecution failed to prove with moral certainty her involvement in the alleged conspiracy,” the court concluded.
