Masbate governor and former solon Rizalina Seachon-Lanete. Marc Jayson Cayabyab/INQUIRER.net FILE PHOTO
PROSECUTORS of the Ombudsman on Thursday appealed the decision of the Sandiganbayan that approved the bail petition of dismissed Masbate governor Rizalina Seachon-Lanete who is facing plunder over her alleged involvement in the pork barrel scam.
The Office of the Special Prosecutor filed a motion for reconsideration to also dispute the court in saying that the former failed to prove that Lanete directly received kickbacks from accused pork barrel scam mastermind Janet Lim-Napoles.
In its motion for reconsideration filed before the anti-graft court Fourth Division, the prosecution said the court erred in removing at least P43 million from Lanete’s alleged P76 million kickbacks just because these were not submarked as evidence.
The court allowed Lanete to post P830,000 bail from plunder and graft after it found that the prosecution failed to prove Lanete’s alleged kickbacks reached the P50 million threshold.
The prosecution said the pieces of evidence even though were not submarked were still part of the evidence admitted in record.
It added that Lanete’s alleged kickbacks were correctly computed at P67.5 million, if these included Lanete’s alleged commissions outside the plunder information or the years earlier than 2007 and in 2010.
The prosecution also said the court erred in saying the prosecution failed to prove Lanete directly received kickbacks from Napoles.
It said Lanete may still be convicted of plunder for indirectly receiving her commission through an agent.
“The flaw in the reasoning of the Honorable Court is that, in effect, it thinks that the culpability of accused Lanete could only be established if there is proof of personal dealings between her and accused Napoles. This regards the provision in the Plunder law that the amassing of ill-gotten wealth could be accomplished by the public official directly or indirectly,” the prosecutors’ motion said.
According to the court decision granting Lanete bail, the prosecution failed to clearly prove that Lanete received from Napoles the threshold P50 million kickbacks to constitute plunder.
“The Court is of the opinion that the evidence, presented by the prosecution, of the guilt of accused Lanete and accused Napoles is not strong,” the court said.
The court said this was because the prosecution even admitted that Napoles and Lanete never met personally, and that Lanete never attended Napoles’ parties or sponsored Masses, or visited the businesswoman’s office.
The prosecution had also admitted that Lanete and Napoles have never met personally to discuss the percentage of kickbacks.
Witness Benhur Luy had also said that he handed the kickbacks not to Napoles but to Lanete’s chief of staff Jose Sumalpong, who is at large.
The court said there were some instances that Lanete’s projects with Napoles were not “ghost projects” after all.
“Luy himself claims that accused Lanete once talked to him over the phone, asking that the vests to be delivered in her favorite color orange. This shows that there was indeed a delivery of items,” the court said.
The court, however, reminded in its resolution that the bail it granted to Lanete should not be considered a prejudgment or a disposition of the case.
Lanete is accused of pocketing P108.405 million allegedly taken from her Priority Development Assistance Funds (PDAF) from 2004 to 2010.
She was detained at the female dormitory of Camp Bagong Diwa in Taguig.
READ: Masbate governor now detained in Bicutan with Napoles, Gigi Reyes
In its complaint, the Ombudsman said Lanete, when she was Masbate representative, misused P112.29 million of PDAF from 2007 to 2009.
Based on Luy’s ledger, Lanete from 2004 to 2010 received P108.405 million in kickbacks, of which P73.065 million was siphoned from Lanete’s PDAF from 2007 to 2009.
In its indictment, the Ombudsman said “Lanete continuously endorsed the implementation of her PDAF-funded livelihood and agricultural projects to questionable NGOs associated with or controlled by Napoles.”
“(Lanete’s) P112.29 million PDAF was anomalously used for livelihood projects, financial assistance to farmers, farm inputs and farm implements, skills training and distribution of livelihood kits in nail care, wellness, massage and candle- making. Several Memoranda of Agreement (MOA) were entered into between Lanete, Technology Resource Center, National Agribusiness Corp and the NGO-partners,” the Ombudsman said.
Lanete was among the first batch of lawmakers charged for purportedly pillaging public funds for ghost projects to rake in kickbacks allegedly in connivance with Napoles.