Sandiganbayan convicts ex-DepEd ARMM official
MANILA, Philippines — The Sandiganbayan Sixth Division has convicted an ex-Department of Education (DepEd) official from the department’s Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) office, for her failure to remit some P75.3 million in Government Service Insurance System (GSIS) contributions of DepEd employees in 2004.
In its ruling, the antigraft court found former DepEd regional director Leovigilda P. Cinches guilty beyond reasonable doubt of four counts of violating Section 52(g) of Republic Act No. 8291 or the GSIS law.
The Sandiganbayan sentenced her to up to three years imprisonment and ordered her to pay a fine of P20,000 per count of the violation, or a total of P80,000.
The case stemmed from Cinches’ failure to remit P18.06 million in August 2004, P19.02 million in September 2004, P18.9 million in October 2004, and P19.3 million in November 2004. —Patricia Denise M. Chiu
