SC affirms graft conviction of former Pagsanjan Mayor ER Ejercito

MANILA, Philippines — The Supreme Court (SC) has upheld the graft conviction of former Pagsanjan Mayor Emilio Ramon “ER” Ejercito amid the illegal insurance deal he approved as mayor in 2008.

In a 16-page decision, the SC First Decision affirmed that Ejercito and Marilyn Brue, owner of First Rapids Care Ventures (FRCV), guilty of violating Republic Act No. (RA) 3019 or the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act.

Both were sentenced to up to eight years in prison and permanently banned from holding public office.

The case stemmed from a complaint filed by the United Boatmen Association of Pagsanjan (UBAP), accusing Ejercito and other local officials of awarding a contract to FRCV without public bidding.

Charges were filed against them by the Office of the Ombudsman before the Sandiganbayan, where Ejercito, Bruel, and several council members—excluding the vice mayor—were convicted.

Ejercito then elevated the case to the SC, arguing that the FRCV was just a qualified service provider that public bidding was unnecessary; while Bruel, claimed that the contract was for special services, not insurance.

READ: No anomaly in insurance deal, says ex-governor

But the SC in its decision disagreed, ruling that the contract was for insurance and therefore classified as “goods” requiring public bidding under the Government Procurement Reform Act.

The SC found that Ejercito knowingly gave FRCV an unfair advantage, bypassing legal procedures and ignoring clear red flags.

FRCV lacked a Certificate of Authority from the Insurance Commission, and was registered with the Department of Trade and Industry and the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) just five days before it offered its services to Ejercito.

These suggest that FRCV was created solely to provide specialized services to the Municipality of Pagsanjan despite having no prior experience.

“By purposely sparing FRCV from the rigors of the processes under the procurement law and consciously turning a blind eye to irregularities, [Ejercito] gave it unwarranted benefit, advantage, or preference,” the decision read.

Under Republic Act 3019 public officers are prohibited from unfairly favoring private parties by granting them special benefits, advantages, or preferences through bias, bad faith, or serious negligence.

Due to this, Bruel was found guilty of misrepresenting FRCV’s qualifications and conspiring with Ejercito to secure the contract, falsely claiming that FRCV could provide the required services, even though its BIR registration listed it as a computer Business.

Meanwhile, the SC acquitted the Sangguniang Bayan members due to a lack of evidence that they showed favoritism toward FRCV.