Former Comelec official acquitted of graft

MANILA, Philippines - The Sandiganbayan yesterday acquitted a former election official of graft for lack of sufficient evidence.

The Sandiganbayan’s First Division said the prosecution failed to produce enough evidence to prove former Commission on Elections (Comelec) commissioner Luzviminda Tancangco was guilty of graft beyond reasonable doubt.

The charges stemmed from accusations that Tancangco was directly involved in the awarding of a P6.62-billion Voters Registration and Identification System (VRIS) project to Photokina Marketing Corp.

The Office of the Ombudsman filed the case against Tancangco in January 2004 based on the complaint filed by Guillermo Luz, Augusto Lagman and Telibert Laoc alleging the Comelec official pushed for the issuance of a Notice of Award for the VRIS project in favor of Photokina.

The complainants alleged the amount was five times bigger than the allotted P1.2-billion budget.

The Sandiganbayan, however, said the prosecutors failed to substantiate the accusations against Tancangco by presenting only one witness.

In a ruling penned by Associate Justice Rodolfo Ponferrada, the Sandiganbayan said the testimony of then Comelec Personnel Department director Fe Campos as a member of the Public Bidding and Evaluation Committee (PBEC) and the Public Bidding and Award Committee (PBAC), did not prove the allegations against Tancangco.

“There is nothing in the testimony of Ms. Fe Campos which would indicate that the accused committed acts that constitute manifest partiality, evident bad faith or gross inexcusable negligence in the award of the project,” the 25-page decision read.

“If at all, if there is anybody who should be held responsible for the award, it should be the members of the Commission en banc, and not the accused,” the Sandiganbayan said.

The anti-graft court explained that Campos’ testimony showed the actions of the PBEC and PBAC were “collegial and merely recommendatory,” which means Tancangco, on her own, had no power to award or grant the project to Photokina.

The Sandiganbayan added the prosecutors also failed to submit its memorandum or the summary of its arguments and evidence on time after its motion for extension of time to submit the same was denied.