PLUNDER convict Janet Napoles, former Oriental Mindoro congressman and governor Rodolfo Valencia, and officers of two government corporations charged in multiple counts of graft and malversation of public funds have failed to block the admission of government evidence against them.
In a 22-page resolution issued November 15, 2022, the Sandiganbayan Seventh Division overruled defense objections to the presentation of documentary exhibits which are part of the formal offer of evidence of the prosecution in the three counts of graft and three counts of malversation filed by the Office of the Ombudsman in 2016.
Other than Valencia and Napoles, also named in the cases were Technology Resource Center (TRC) executives Antonio Ortiz, Dennis Cunanan, Maria Rosalinda Lacsamana, Consuelo Lilian Espiritu, Francisco Figura and Marivic Jover; Department of Budget Management undersecretary Mario Relampagos, budget and management specialist Rosario Nuñez and administrative assistants Marilou Bare and Lalaine Paule; and National Agribusiness Corporation (Nabcor) officials Alan Javellana, Victor Cacal, Maria Ninez Guañizo and Rhodora Bulatao.
The cases involved allegations that P7 million from Valencia’s Priority Development Assistance Fund (PDAF), or pork barrel allocations, ended up with a bogus foundation created by Napoles, the Masaganang Ani Para sa Magsasaka Foundation Inc. (MAMFI), using two government-owned or controlled corporations as conduits.
State auditors and graft investigators said the NGO existed only on paper and no real programs were implemented although the money was earmarked for livelihood and agricultural projects, skills training, and distribution of livelihood kits in Valencia’s legislative district.
Among the documents admitted by the court was the Joint Complaint Affidavit from the Anti-Money Laundering Council (AMLC) which was opposed by the defense on the ground that AMLC Secretariat member Cesar Cruz had no personal knowledge of its contents.
“The AMLC Joint Complaint Affidavit is admitted being a certified copy of a public document attested by its legal custodian Cesar Cruz,” the antigraft court said, adding that personal knowledge is only relevant in the authentication of documents which is not necessary for public documents.
Also admitted was the AMLC Bank Inquiry Report dated October 19, 2016 although Napoles objected to it for being hearsay and the bank documents were not originals. Valencia also said that prosecution witness Leigh Vhon Santos had no personal knowledge of the said document.
The court disagreed saying the document is not hearsay as it was authenticated by Santos, a bank officer of the AMLC Secretariat, who is competent to attest to the genuineness of the certified copies even if he did not participate in their preparation.
Napoles and her co-accused also failed to stop the admission into the case record of printouts from the hard drive of prosecution star witness Benhur Luy, who used to be a trusted employee of Napoles.
The documents in question contained a breakdown of incoming sums and releases marked as Exhibits E, F, and G titled “JLN Cash/Check Daily Disbursement Reports,” which was testified on by NBI agent Dario Sabilano who was earlier presented as an expert witness for the prosecution being a certified hacking forensics investigator.
‘Exhibits E, F, and G are admitted having been duly authenticated by witness Benhur Luy,” the court said.
Prosecutors offered the documents “to prove that the illegal transactions of accused Napoles through various NGOs were recorded and documented by her finance officer Luy.”
Luy had testified that he printed from his hard drive only twice: first, during the NBI investigation, ad second, before the clerk of court of the Fifth Division.
The ones submitted with the Seventh Division were copies of the NBI investigation printouts.
Defendants were told by the Sandiganbayan that duplicates of the original printouts are admissible under the Rules on Electronic Evidence.
