Sajid Ampatuan pleads not guilty to 36 corruption raps

Former Maguindanao officer-in-charge Datu Sajid Islam Ampatuan pleaded not guilty to 36 corruption charges filed against him at the Sandiganbayan.

Ampatuan made his plea as the charges were read out to him during his arraignment before the Sandiganbayan Fifth Division.

He was charged with anomalous disbursement of P16,317,559 to a food supplier Henry Merchandising, which turned out to be “fictitious and/or nonexistent,” according to the prosecution.

READ: Sajid Ampatuan faces 36 more charges over P16.3-M food scam

The 36 charges consist of one count of violation of Section 3(e) of the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act, one count of malversation of public funds, and 34 counts of falsification of public documents.

Ampatuan was also scheduled to be arraigned before the Sandiganbayan Sixth Division on Tuesday on 145 counts of misuse of P72.26 million in 2009 for the repair of school buildings and disbursed to four lumber companies which turned out to be non-existent.

The arraignment was reset for Sept. 4.

Ampatuan, who is also on trial as a respondent for the 2009 Maguindanao massacre, faces a total of 272 corruption cases covering three batches of charges alleging anomalous disbursement of public funds in the province./rga

READ: Sajid Ampatuan’s corruption cases now total 272