NEA chief welcomes ruling on negligence raps

National Electrification Administration (NEA) Administrator Manuel Luis Sanchez said he was grateful over last week’s ruling by the Sandiganbayan for the Ombudsman to reconsider its decision to file negligence charges against him.

The NEA head, who voluntarily went on leave pending his clearance, expressed hopes this would pave the way for his full exoneration of any involvement in an P85-million loss after a branch manager of the Land Bank of the Philippines (LBP) absconded with the NEA funds.

Last Wednesday, the anti-graft court’s third division headed by Justice Anacleto Badoy ruled there was merit in a petition for reconsideration submitted by Sanchez’s lawyers.

It ordered the case returned to the Ombudsman for a thorough review of its decision to charge Sanchez with gross negligence in his former capacity as deputy administrator for finance under then administrator and now Pangasinan Rep. Conrado Estrella III.

Sanchez’s lawyers successfuly argued that the NEA officials were not negligent in depositing the NEA’s funds with the government bank.

In their pleading, they said the LBP was fully responsible for the actions of its officers, given its judiciary duties as a depository bank. NEA officials also acted in good faith in placing the funds with the government financial institution.

"The bank, as depository, failed to exercise the care required by the circumstances, for which reason, it is the bank, and not NEA or respondent Sanchez, which should be held liable for negligence," said Sanchez’s lawyers.

In March last year, the NEA deposited some P85 million in bid bonds related to a wood poles project with the Land Bank of the Philippines (LBP) North Avenue branch in Quezon City. However, branch manager Pablito Calayag was able to withdraw from the NEA accounts and abscond with the entire amount.

Calayag, with the suspected aid of other LBP officials, forged the signatures of Estrella and Sanchez. And it was the branch manager’s imprimatur which led to the release of the funds to his suspected dummies. Calayag is now at-large and is believed to be in either the US or Canada.