Former Pasay City mayor Peewee Trinidad. SCREENGRAB FROM PINKY PY’S YOUTUBE ACCOUNT
Former Pasay city mayor Wenceslao “Peewee” Trinidad and former Pasay Representative Jose Antonio Roxas were sentenced by the Sandiganbayan to at least 10 years in prison after being convicted of graft for criminally favoring a contractor in the construction of a public market mall in 2004.
In a decision promulgated Nov. 26., the antigraft court First Division found Trinidad and Roxas guilty beyond reasonable doubt of violating Section 3(e) of the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act for giving undue benefit to Izumo Contractors Inc.
They were sentenced to a prison term of six years and one month as minimum to 10 years as maximum, and penalized with perpetual disqualification from public office.
Trinidad and Roxas were convicted of giving unwarranted benefit to Izumo Contractors Inc.by awarding the contract for the construction of a P489.95-million Pasay City mall and public market. Trinidad was chairman of the Pre-Qualification Bids and Awards Committee (PBAC) while Roxas was then a member of PBAC and councilor at the time of the contract in February 2004.
READ: Ex-mayor Peewee Trinidad in hot water over building of Pasay City Mall in ‘03
Trinidad as PBAC chair awarded the contract to Izumo even though the PBAC has ceased to exist after it was superseded by the creation and constitution of a new PBAC under the Republic Act 9184 or the Government Procurement Reform Act.
The court ruled that Trinidad and Roxas reconvened the PBAC for the bidding even though they did not have the authority to do so, “thereby (giving) unto the latter (Izumo) unwarranted benefits, advantage, and preference, as such acts not only indicate a dishonest purpose or some moral obliquity, the conscious doing of a wrong, and a breach of sworn duty through some bad motive or intent or ill will but also constitute corruption or abuse of authority.”
The court also convicted Trinidad for violating Article 237 of the Revised Penal Code which penalizes the act of prolonging the performance of duties and powers with prision correccional.
“When the herein accused continued to perform their duties and powers as chairman and members of the abolished PBAC when they convened on Jan. 30, 2004, and conducted the bidding on the procurement of the project, they thereby prolonged the performance of their duties and powers as chairman and members of the defunct PBAC in violation of Article 237 of the Revised Penal Code,” the court said.
Trinidad and Roxas were sentenced to four months and 21 days arresto mayor as minimum to one year, one month and 11 days prision correccional as maximum and a special temporary disqualification from public office for a period of six years and one day. They were also fined P200. IDL