Sandigan affirms validity of PDAF raps vs Davao solon

Former Davao del Sur Representative Marc Douglas Cagas IV (congress.gov.ph)

The Sandiganbayan will proceed with the trial of former Davao del Sur 1st Dist. Rep. Marc Douglas Cagas IV, as it affirmed the validity of his P7.55-million pork barrel scam charges.

In an 11-page resolution penned by Presiding Justice Amparo M. Cabotaje-Tang, the court’s Third Division denied the Jan. 11 motion to quash the graft and malversation cases against Cagas IV for lack of merit.

A motion to quash questions whether the allegations stated by the prosecution in the charge sheets met the required elements to head to a full-blown trial.

Cagas said the informations were deficient because they did not specify which provisions of the “appropriations law and its implementing rules” he allegedly disregarded.

The court rejected this argument, pointing out that it was not an element required to establish a case for violation of Section 3(e) of the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act.

It also did not give weight to Cagas’s contention that he was not an accountable officer who directly held control of the funds.

The court agreed with the Ombudsman’s June 2015 resolution citing the Supreme Court’s 2013 Belgica ruling. The said SC ruling, which declared the Priority Development Assistance Fund (PDAF) unconstitutional, held that legislators exercise “actual control and custody of the PDAF share allocated to him.”

Meanwhile, the court decided not to touch upon the other issues Cagas raised because they are matters of defense that contradicted the prosecution’s allegations and should thus be threshed out in a full-blown trial.

Such issues include Cagas’s denial of involvement in the selection of the allegedly unqualified People’s Organization for Progress and Development Foundation, Inc. (POPDFI) as partner for his PDAF-funded projects.

Cagas also claimed his signatures in the recommendation letters and the memorandum of agreement were forged. He also said he played no role in the selection of the non-government organization without public bidding, as well as the processing of the release of the P7.55 million.

Cagas faces separate charges of graft, malversation and malversation through falsification over the release of P5.4-million to Farmerbusiness Development Corp. These were only recently filed in March and Cagas has filed a motion for judicial determination of probable cause.

His father and predecessor, incumbent Governor Douglas Cagas, is also facing graft, malversation and direct bribery charges over the alleged misuse of his P16-million PDAF proceeds in 2007, supposedly taking a bribe of P9.3 million.

His mother, Mercedes Cagas, currently represents what is now the province’s lone district.  JPV