FORMER Technology and Livelihood Resource Center (TLRC) deputy director general Dennis Cunanan, chief accountant Marivic Jover, and legislative liaison officer Belina Concepcion have been found guilty of graft and malversation of public funds for involvement in the Priority Development Assistance Fund (PDAF) or “pork barrel” scam.
Likewise convicted on both charges were Hiram Diday Pulido, chief of staff of the late Negros Oriental Rep. Herminio Teves, and private defendant Samuel Bombeo, representative of Molugan Foundation Inc., a non-government organization.
They were sentenced to six to ten years imprisonment for the graft charge and 12 to 18 years for the malversation case for a total of 18 to 28 years.
On top of the jail term, the Sandiganbayan Third Division also ordered the five to pay P9.6 million in fines and another P9.6 million as indemnity to the government subject to six percent interest until paid in full.
All were also perpetually disqualified from holding public office.
The 68-page decision promulgated on September 15, 2023 was penned by Associate Justice Ronald B. Moreno. Presiding Justice Amparo M. Cabotaje-Tang and Associate Justice Bernelito R. Fernandez concurred.
Teves was among the defendants when the charges were filed by the Office of the Ombudsman in 2018 but he passed away the following year, resulting in the dismissal of his cases.
Also indicted were former TLRC director general Antonio Ortiz who remains at large, and department manager Francisco Figura, who was acquitted by the anti-graft court on reasonable doubt.
Based on the 2007 indictment, the Office of the Ombudsman accused them of conspiracy to funnel P9.6 million from Teves’ PDAF allocations into Molugan Foundation, which was reportedly handpicked by the lawmaker as a project partner.
Prosecutors said that out of the P10 million PDAF released to TLRC, P9.6 million was transferred to the Molugan Foundation despite the lack of public bidding, contrary to the provisions of RA 9184 or the Government Procurement Reform Act.
The P400,000 difference was retained by TLRC as a “service fee.”
Ostensibly, the money was intended for the distribution of agricultural implements and livelihood assistance to poor families in Teves’ legislative district.
After a special audit of the PDAF, state auditors issued a notice of disallowance, saying the transaction was “undertaken without due regard to existing laws and regulations.”
The Commission on Audit declared that the transfer of the PDAF sum to the Molugan Foundation was illegal and irregular since NGOs were not included among the listed implementing arms of PDAF projects, according to the General Appropriations Act of 2007.
During the trial, prosecutors also showed the foundation was not accredited by the government and had no record of having undertaken any type of livelihood project.
Cunanan was held liable for certifying that the disbursement of public funds was “necessary, lawful, and incurred under his direct supervision” without ascertaining the qualification and accreditation of the NGO.
