Former Local Water Utilities Administration (LWUA) acting board chair and now Surigao del Sur Rep. Prospero Pichay Jr. and two other former LWUA officials on Friday were found guilty of graft over the agency’s P1.5-million sponsorship of a 2010 chess tournament named after the lawmaker.
The Sandiganbayan ruled that Pichay, former senior deputy administrator Emmanuel Blancaflor Malicdem and former acting deputy administrator Wilfredo Manalili Feleo were guilty beyond reasonable doubt of violating the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act.
They were sentenced from six years and one month to eight years in jail. They were also barred from public office. They were also ordered to reimburse P1.5 million to LWUA, plus 6-percent interest per annum.
The cases stemmed from LWUA’s sponsorship of a chess tournament, second Chairman Prospero Pichay Jr. Cup International Chess Championship, in 2010. Pichay was also president of the organization at the time he was acting chair of the LWUA board. —Nikka G. Valenzuela