Ex-CamNorte governor found guilty of breaching procurement laws

The Sandiganbayan Second Division has found former Camarines Norte Governor Jesus Typoco Jr. guilty of graft for acquiring supplies and items worth P14.99 million in 2001 without undergoing proper procurement.

According to the 22-page decision dated November 23, Typoco was convicted for violating Section 3(e) of R.A. 3019 or the Anti Graft and Corrupt Practices when he illegally acquired 7,219 pieces of steel and wooden armchairs, 180 sets of plant cultivation implements and fertilizers, and 100 garden site and soil preparation from Crown IBM Trading in Batangas City.

Sandiganbayan said Typoco’s purchase of the said items was not included in the exceptions for public bidding. Crown IBM Trading, which is owned by a certain Ildefeonso Macaraig, was also neither a duly licensed manufacturer nor was it an exclusive distributor — therefore, necessitating procurement steps.

Typoco initially denied that he ordered the purchase of the items, saying that his signature in the documents was not clear and he cannot confirm if it was his.

He also noted that the purchase order shown to him by the prosecution was irregular, because it did not bore the provincial seal.

He admitted, however,  in a letter addressed to a Malacañang official in 2003 that he was enticed to issue the required documents in his “ardent desire to bring in such tools and equipment for my constituents.”

The anti-graft court also noted that the former governor sent a letter saying that the provincial government does not have the funds for the supplies, but nevertheless sent a travel order to his employees to pick it up.

Typoco is sentenced to six years and one month up to eight years in prison and is perpetually disqualified from public office. However, he was acquitted for the crime of estafa for insufficient evidence, after he allegedly failed to pay Macaraig. /ee