Ex-general, other RSBS execs found guilty of graft

The Sandiganbayan on Tuesday convicted retired Brig. Gen. Jose Ramiscal and three other officials of the Armed Forces of the Philippines-Retirement and Separation Benefits System (AFP-RSBS) of graft charges for overpricing property that the agency had purchased.

Ramiscal, who used to head the AFP-RSBS, was also found guilty of falsification of public documents for the same transaction.

Those convicted of graft along with Ramiscal were former AFP-RSBS officials Meinrado Bello, head of the legal division; Manuel Se Satuito, chief of documentation; and Capt. Perfecto Quilicot Jr., the project officer.

The four officials were sentenced to six to 10 years’ imprisonment and directed to pay the AFP-RSBS P1.304 million.

Ramiscal was also sentenced to another two to six years’ imprisonment and fined P5,000 for his falsification conviction.

The former AFP-RSBS officials intend to file a motion for reconsideration, according to their lawyers.

In its ruling penned by Justice Jose Hernandez, the Sandiganbayan Fourth Division found the officials liable for causing the disbursement of P1.53 million for property in Tanauan, Batangas, which was was sold for only P227,460.

“As it turned out, the documentation of the transaction was manipulated purposely to allow the disbursement of amounts over and above the actual purchase price,” it said.

It noted that there were two deeds of sale issued for the same property, indicating different purchasing costs: P227,460 and P1.53 million.

Manipulated

It said the first deed of sale bearing the lower purchasing cost was used to register the transaction and to pay the registration fee and other taxes. The other deed of sale bearing the P1.53 million purchase price was used to seek disbursements from the AFP-RSBS.

It said that it considers the P227,460 as the actual selling price by the land owners, since it was the basis for the transfer of the title to the AFP-RSBS.

According to the court, it could not give weight to the testimony of lot owner Glicerio Plaza that he received over a million pesos in payment because the deed of sale with the lower amount was duly recognized as the basis of the transfer before the Register of Deeds and the Bureau of Internal Revenue.

There was also no allegation that the first deed of sale was simulated, and Plaza’s testimony could not override what was on the document.

The court also junked the officers’ contention that the payment of P1.53 million was justified because the Board had approved the project.

It said the Board’s approval did not contain a provision on the definite selling price of the property, and that the mentioned guaranteed price in the document was not the selling price.

As for the contention of the officers that they had not known of the P227,460 selling price, the court said this was a breach of duty because it was their obligation to determine how much the AFP-RSBS was obliged to pay for the lots. It noted that the information about the selling price was in the document showing the transfer of the title to the agency.

It also noted there was a board meeting after the purchase where it was disclosed that the average price of the lot, and not its actual price, was the amount used in the documentation. Subsequently, the Board decided to redo the documentation to correct the previous transactions.

It said Bello and Ramiscal, who were in the board meeting, should have made an immediate response when the call for rectification of documents was made, especially if their claim of innocence and good faith were true.

But they made no correction, it added.