The Sandiganbayan. FILE PHOTO
MANILA, Philippines—The Sandiganbayan has dismissed malversation charges against eight regional executive directors of the Department of Agriculture (DA) for their alleged involvement in the P728-million fertilizer fund scam of 2004.
The antigraft court’s 1st Division dismissed the charges against Cesar D. Rodriguez, Dennis B. Araullo, Ricardo D. Oblena, Leo P. Cañeda, Oscar O. Parawan, Roger C. Chio, Sumail K. Sekak and Eduardo Lecciones .
In a resolution issued on March 19, the court also ordered the return of the bail bonds to the eight accused.
The court clarified that the dismissal was at the behest of the Office of the Ombudsman which sought the withdrawal of the charges due to defects in the formal information based on an April 14, 2011, resolution approved by then acting Ombudsman Orlando Casimiro.
The court said it was able to establish that all the accused did not take possession of the funds as they had transferred them to the partner proponents composed of congressmen, provincial governors, vice governors and municipal mayors.
To sustain the charge of malversation, there must be documentary or testimonial support from which to derive the conclusion that “the [regional executive directors] converted the funds or a portion thereof for their own private use or benefit,” the Sandiganbayan said.
In a memorandum dated July 20, 2012, the Ombudsman sought the recall of the information against the regional directors, saying there was no ground to indict them.
It said that since the transfer of the funds was sanctioned under the Agriculture and Fisheries Modernization Act, the loss of the funds was not due to conversion to personal use, hence, there was no malversation, it said.
The Sandiganbayan, however, clarified that the dismissal was without prejudice to the filing of proper charges after the completion of a new preliminary investigation wherein the lawmakers and local government officials would be given an opportunity to explain their side.
Separate plunder charges against former Agriculture Secretary Luis P. Lorenzo, former Agriculture Undersecretary Jocelyn “Jocjoc” Bolante, former assistant secretary for field operations Ibarra T. C. Poliquit, six private respondents, and several John and Jane Does remained pending in the court. They are alleged to have used the funds to purchase liquid fertilizer and farm equipment at inflated prices and without public bidding.
Bolante was described as the mastermind of the “grand scheme” in planning the dispersal of the funds.
Named coaccused in plunder case were private individuals Jaime L. Paule, Marilyn Araos, Joselito F. Flordeliza, Marites Aytona, Jose F. Barredo and Leonicia Marco-Llanera who allegedly cornered the delivery of overpriced liquid fertilizer to various recipients in a list that Bolante had supplied. Cynthia D. Balana