Court junks 1 of 2 graft cases against CHED exec

The Sandiganbayan has dismissed one of the two graft charges filed against former Commission on Higher Education (CHEd) Executive Director Julito Vitriolo for his alleged involvement in the “diploma mill” operations of the state-run Pamantasan ng Lungsod ng Maynila (PLM).

In a 16-page resolution dated Oct. 6, the Sandiganbayan’s First Division said prosecutors failed to meet the required elements of a case for violation of Section 3(a) of the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act, which punishes those who make a public officer violate regulations.

But Vitriolo will still stand trial for the other case of violating Section 3(e) of the Anti-Graft law, for causing undue injury to the government and giving unwarranted benefits to a private party.

The court explained that in a graft case for influence-peddling, it was not enough to allege that Vitriolo persuaded or influenced another public official to violate the rules.

The charge sheet indicated “no proof of any consideration” for a Section 3(a) case to prosper against him.

The court cited the Senate’s deliberations in 1960 on the intent of the law—to punish influence-peddling when the accused actually receives an advantage in return.

In Vitriolo’s case, there was no testimonial or documentary evidence to show he “received any remuneration or consideration” as a motive for allegedly inducing PLM to violate the suspension of the National College of Physical Education (NCPE) program.

Full-blown trial

However, Section 3(e) case merited a full-blown trial since it was sufficiently stated that the continuation of the NCPE program affected the quality of PLM’s state-funded education and harmed the graduates.

The Ombudsman has accused Vitriolo of convincing PLM to continue issuing diplomas and transcript of records for the NCPE program even after PLM suspended, in 2008, the 1996 agreement with NCPE.

The suspension of the program was upon the recommendation of the Commission on Audit.