Ombudsman recommends graft raps vs 2 Baseco execs

Ombudsman Conchita-Carpio Morales. (File photo by MARIANNE BERMUDEZ / Philippine Daily Inquirer)

The Office of the Ombudsman on Thursday ordered the filing of graft charges against two officials of the Bataan Shipyard and Engineering Corporation, Inc. (Baseco) for withdrawing the company’s funds without valid documentation.

Ordered charged for 13 counts of violation of Section 3(e) of the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act (Republic Act No. 3019) are Proceso Maligalig and Agustiniana Avelino, members of the Baseco’s Board of Directors.

The Ombudsman said that during their stint as Baseco board members, they made 13 cash withdrawals from October 2008 to December 2010 amounting to P102,070,993.33.

The withdrawals of cash were made without stating any public purpose or justification nor were they supported by documentation, Ombudsman Conchita Carpio-Morales said.

“Both respondents stressed that the funds were justifiably used but no single piece of evidence was presented to corroborate their statement. Additionally, Maligalig and Avelino failed to enlighten this Office regarding the purposes for which the withdrawn amounts were intended and whether said purposes were truly served,” she added.

In its resolution, the Ombudsman also noted that “withdrawing huge amounts from the coffers of Baseco sans proof that these amounts were properly disbursed or utilized constitutes bad faith.”

“Certainly, these repeated withdrawals of Baseco funds resulted in quantifiable, pecuniary losses to the corporation, thus, constituting undue injury within the context of Section 3(e) of R.A. No. 3019.”

The complaints against other Baseco officials, Wilmar Lucero, Rene Cruz, Gloria Cortez, Socorro Santos and Anthony Jay Consunji were dismissed for lack of probable cause.

Baseco is a shipbuilding and ship repair corporation controlled by the Philippine Commission on Good Government. /jpv

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