THE Sandiganbayan has shot down a bid by former Oriental Mindoro Rep. Rodolfo Valencia for an outright dismissal of six criminal charges filed against him by the Office of the Ombudsman in 2016 in connection with the Priority Development Assistance Fund (PDAF) or “pork barrel” scam.
In a resolution dated March 8, 2023, the Seventh Division denied the former lawmaker’s motion seeking leave of court to file a demurrer to evidence challenging the sufficiency of the testimonies and documentary exhibits adduced by the prosecution in his trial.
Valencia is facing three counts each of malversation of public funds and violation of RA 3019 or the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act for alleged unlawful transfer of P7 million from his PDAF to a bogus private foundation, Masaganang Ani Para sa Magsasaka Foundation Inc. (MAMFI).
Prosecutors said at Valencia’s request, the money was releases by the Department of Budget and Management to the Technology and Resource Center (TRC) and National Agribusiness Corp (Nabcor) which supposedly served as conduits for funneling the PDAF into MAMFI.
Among the former legislator’s co-accused were former officials of the DBM, TRC, Nabcor, and businesswoman Janet Napoles who is already serving hefty jail sentences for plunder also in relation to the PDAF scam.
In his motion, Valencia argued that the evidence presented taken in their entirety do not sufficiently establish that his actions amounted to a conspiracy with the rest of the defendants.
He said none of the witnesses who testified in court provided details as to how he was supposed to have cooperated in the commission of the crime.
On the contrary, he underscored admissions from witnesses that they never saw him in person dealing with Napoles or any of his co-accused in any atter PDAF-related.
Likewise, no officer of the Anti-Money Laundering Council (AMLC), the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI), or the Commission on Audit (COA) produced any evidence that the money from PDAF went into his bank accounts.
Prosecutors countered that the evidence showed it was Valencia who handpicked Napoles’ MAMFI as NGO project partner and requested the DBM to release his PDAF allocations to TRC and Nabcor.
In denying Valencia’s motion, the Sandigabayan held that it found the evidence sufficient to sustain the charges.
“Gauged from the prosecution’s evidence, it was sufficiently established that accused Valencia caused the release of his PDAF to TLRC/Nabcor and ultimately to MAMFI. Indeed, the very funds subject of these cases were released to MAMFI at the behest of Valencia,” the anti-graft court said.
On the former lawmaker’s contention of lack of direct proof that he received sums from the PDAF transactions or that he met with Napoles, the court said it is of little bearing to the case.
“The purported commission of the crimes pointed to accused Valencia at the helm, who provided the trigger point with his endorsement, without whom the consummation of the crimes would not have been effected,” the court added.
