Two former mayors cleared by Sandigan

The Sandiganbayan acquitted yesterday two former Metro Manila mayors of graft charges.

Cleared by two divisions of the anti-graft court were Brigido Simon Jr. and Pablo Olivarez, former mayors of Quezon City and Parañaque City, respectively.

In a 26-page resolution penned by Associate Justice Rodolfo Palattao, the Sandiganbayan fourth division also dismissed the graft and technical malversation through falsification of public documents charges against Simon’s co-accused, namely: former Quezon City treasurer Montano Diaz; former assistant city general services officer Jonathan Africa; storekeeper Joel Solidum and board secretary of the city school board Teresita Turla.

Former school superintendent Bienvenido Icasiano had been cleared earlier.

Court records showed that Simon was charged a few months before the 1992 local elections where he ran for re-election but lost to Ismael Mathay Jr.

Palattao noted that the acquittal of Simon and his co-accused "can only at best repair a damaged reputation."

"The incident is part of the hazards of governance, a risk one has to take in rendering public service. After all, the injunction is for him, at all times to be accountable to our people," he said.

The charges stemmed from a report of a Commission on Audit team which showed that the former mayor conspired with his co-accused in the overpriced purchase of school equipment and supplies amounting to P10 million in 1992.

The COA report noted that the accused also falsified documents in the purchase of 26 units of computers to make it appear that each unit, which was originally priced at P35,000, cost P63,000.

Palattao said Icasiano’s acquittal cast doubt on the charges filed against Simon and his co-accused, making the very foundation of the charges "dubious and improbable."

"Since Icasiano was the head of the division that purchased the equipment and supplies, the other accused should not be faulted just because their signatures appeared on some of the documents supporting the purchase," he said.

In a separate six-page resolution, the Sandiganbayan third division chaired by Associate Justice Anacleto Badoy found Olivares and his co-accused Dionisio Banta of the Parañaque engineering department innocent of graft charges.

The case against Olivarez and Banta stemmed from allegations that they caused in 1993 the demolition of the concrete fence and steel gate constructed by complainant Carmen Rodriquez-Cortez, who owned property at 7323 A. Bonifacio Street, Barangay San Dionisio, Parañaque.

Cortez said the demolition caused her P75,275, covering the cost of construction expenses of the fence and gate.

In acquitting Olivarez and Banta, the anti-graft court said that they found no evident bad faith on the part of the accused when they caused the dismantling of the structures in the course of a road-widening project.