South Cotabato solon acquitted of graft

Photo from Acharon’s Facebook account

The Sandiganbayan Seventh Division on Tuesday acquitted South Cotabato Rep. Pedro Acharon Jr. of a graft charge in connection with the issuance of a travel order without the approval of the Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG) when he was General Santos city mayor.

In a decision promulgated Tuesday, the anti-graft court said the prosecution failed to prove Acharon caused undue injury to government when he allowed Sanggunian Panlungsod members Jose Orlando Acharon and Minda Atendido to travel abroad for the Tambayoyong Festival in Los Angeles from June 9-16, 2006 even without a DILG authorization.

Rep. Acharon and the two others were accused of violating Section 3(e) of the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act for allegedly acting with manifest partiality when Acharon, then General Santos city mayor, issued a travel order to Acharon and Atendido to join the festival knowing full well that then DILG Secretary Ronaldo Puno disapproved the same request.

Sanggunian member Acharon is the son of Rep.  Acharon. The elder Acharon himself was also not given a travel authority.

In his testimony, Rep. Acharon said he issued the travel order for the Sanggunian in lieu of his authority as city mayor under the Local Government Code, which gives the mayor the power to authorize official trips of city officials outside the city for a period of 30 days.

But the court said Rep. Acharon had no authority to supplant the disapproved travel request with his travel order, citing Executive Order 459 which requires all government officials and employees to seek travel authority from the respective heads of agencies, including the DILG Secretary.

Memorandum Circular 2006-163 also gives the DILG Secretary the approving authority for study trips and non-study trips of all provincial, municipal and barangay officials. The court said the Sanggunian’s travel to Los Angeles falls under non-study trips.

The court clarified too that the Local Government Code gives power to the city mayor to grant trips only in so far as private or personal trips are concerned which should be undertaken during the officials’ official leave of absence.

“A meticulous reading of the travel order … issued by Mayor Acharon would nonetheless reveal that the intent of the foreign travel granted SP members Acharon and Atendido is certainly not for a personal or private trip but for an official delegation,” the court said.
Therefore, Acharon had “no authority to allow the foreign travel of SP Members Acharon and Atendido and charge the same to local public funds,” the court added.

The court said it was “highly discernible” there was manifest partiality especially because Rep. Acharon granted a travel order to his son, but despite this the prosecution still failed to prove Acharon caused injury or damage to government by allowing the SP members to travel without the DILG’s authority.

While the court said Acharon had no authority to supplant the disapproved travel request by issuing another travel order, the court thumbed down as “myopic” or shortsighted the prosecution’s claim that Acharon and Atendido were the “private parties” who were given unwarranted benefits by Rep. Acharon.

Although the Sanggunian Panlungsod had appropriated P2.5 million for the conduct of the Tambayoyong Festival in Los Angeles, the prosecution has not presented an audit report to show the Sanggunian members charged their travel expenses to this budget.

“No undue injury caused to the government was proven,” the court said.

The prosecution also did not refute the Sanggunian members’ defense that they did not receive a cash advance in the foreign trip.

The court also noted that Acharon’s travel order granted the foreign trip to Acharon and Atendido on their official functions as members of the Sanggunian, and not on their private capacities.

“It could not be perceived, therefore, that SP members Acharon and Atendido were granted the foreign travel in their capacity as ‘private parties’ who were given unwarranted benefits, advantage or preference in the discharge of the functions of the city mayor,” the court said.

“Necessarily, the failure or inability of the prosecution to substantiate any of the elements of the offense charged … is fatal to the cause of the people; hence, it renders inevitable the acquittal of the accused,” the court added.

Erratum: An earlier version of this report erroneously stated that Acharon was acquitted in his graft case over his failure to liquidate P2.5 million public funds used for the dinner during the said festival in Los Angeles, California. This case is still pending before the Sandiganbayan Seventh Division.

In that case, Acharon allegedly failed to liquidate P2.5 million spent for the Tambayoyong Festival in Los Angeles from June 9 to 16, 2006 when he was General Santos City mayor. The budget was intended for a dinner for 37 participants, but only 17 showed up. Acharon allegedly failed to liquidate the P2.5 million fund, causing undue injury to government. It is still on trial. IDL/rga

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