8 ex-police execs lose appeal in P358-M ‘ghost’ repairs case
The Sandiganbayan has affirmed the graft convictions of eight former Philippine National Police officers and personnel involved in the P358-million “ghost” repairs and maintenance of 28 police armored vehicles in 2007.
At the same time, the anti-graft court’s Special Fourth Division acquitted one of the respondents, Henry Duque, after it determined that he was not part of the group that conspired to defraud the government of millions of pesos.
In a 37-page resolution issued on March 16, the court denied the motions for reconsideration filed by the eight accused for lack of merit.
In December last year, the Fourth Division found all the accused, including Duque, guilty and handed down the following sentences: Emmanuel Ojeda, Reuel Leverne Labrado, Josefina Dumanew, Analee Forro and Victor Puddao were each sentenced to six to 10 years of imprisonment for four counts of graft, or a total of 24 to 40 years. The five were former officials of the PNP Logistics Support Service’s (LSS) bids and awards committee (BAC).
Another LSS officer, Warlito Tubon, and civilian supply officer Eulito Fuentes were sentenced to 12 to 20 years each for two counts of graft, while Alex Barrameda, a civilian employee, and Duque, also a BAC member, were sentenced to six to 10 years each for one count of graft.
Passive participation
In their motion for reconsideration, the accused disputed the court’s findings of a conspiracy in the ghost repairs and argued that the prosecution presented “no evidence of an agreement or concerted action among them.”
They also told the court that passive participation, or ministerial signing, “does not demonstrate the unity of purpose required for criminal conspiracy.”
But for the court, the very essence of conspiracy is that the “act of one is the act of all.”
“A finding of conspiracy means that all the accused are deemed to have consented to and adopted as their own the offense of the other accused,” read the resolution by Associate Justices Michael Frederick Musngi, the division chair; Lorifel Lacap Pahimna and J. Ermin Ernest Louie Miguel.
The court pointed out that all the accused’s “concerted actions reveal a unity of purpose,” which was to manipulate the bidding process through nonpublication and lack of material information on the invitations to bid.
Nonexistent parts
The court also said that Dumanew, one of the accused, even issued defective procurement documents and certified the completion of the services even before delivery, while Tubon, Fuentes and Barrameda inspected and attested to the receipt of spare parts which were found to be nonexistent.
In acquitting Duque, the court said there was no evidence tying him to the actual bidding. He earlier argued that he was designated as a BAC member on Oct. 2007 while the bidding was held on Sept. 24, 2007.
As for the civil liabilities of the eight accused, the court said it found “cogent reason” to modify its earlier decision which ordered them to indemnify the amounts of P29.9 million and P53.9 million, and another P29.9 million for Barrameda.
