THE Sandiganbayan has dismissed two graft charges filed in 2017 against Department of Information and Communications Technology Secretary Gregorio Honasan II and eight co-defendants.
The cases involved allegations of irregularities in the disbursement of Honasan’s Priority Development Assistance Fund or “pork barrel” allocations in 2012 when he was still a senator.
Associate Justice Michael Frederick L. Musngi penned the majority resolution concurred in full by Associate Justices Oscar C. Herrera Jr. and Bernelito R. Fernandez.
Associate Justices Bayani H. Jacinto submitted a separate concurring and dissenting opinion which was concurred in by Associate Justice Zaldy H. Trespeses.
In its 52-page Resolution dated December 16, 2020, the anti-graft court’s Second Division said the evidence presented by government prosecutors fell short of the required degree of proof needed to establish the guilt of the accused.
“Based on a careful study of the records of the case, the Court finds that the evidence of the prosecution is insufficient to prove the commission of the crime,” it declared.
In the information filed in 2017, the Office of the Ombudsman accused Honasan and the rest of the defendants of improper use of P30 million from his PDAF.
The former senator earmarked his PDAF to fund small businesses and other livelihood initiatives for Muslim communities in Metro Manila and in the province of Zambales.
However, graft investigators and government auditors found irregularities in the fund transfers as well as violations of procurement rules.
Charged together with Honasan were his political affairs staff Michael Benjamin, National Council for Muslim Filipinos (NCMF) Secretary Mehol Sadain, Acting chief accountant Fedelina Aldanese, director Galay Makalinggan, Aurora Aragon-Mabang, and cashier Olga Galido.
Named private defendants were Giovanni Manuel Gaerlan and Salvador Gaerlan, officers of Focus Development Goals Foundation Inc., a non-government organization.
While the NCMF was supposed to be the implementing agency, Honasan endorsed the Focus NGO as project partner.
Prosecutors said Focus Foundation was informed that it qualified to undertake the project on June 4, 2012 yet the check was already drawn in its favor on May 30, 2012.
Based on audit documents, P29.1 million from Honasan’s PDAF ended up with the NGO in two installments.
