Caloocan lawmaker cleared of graft raps

The Sandiganbayan has cleared a congressman of Caloocan City of graft and falsification charges after government prosecutors found in a reinvestigation that evidence for indictment was insufficient to withstand trial.

Caloocan 1st district Rep. Oscar Malapitan was absolved of any liability by justices of the anti-graft court’s third division of the anti-graft court on his 10 criminal charges upon the recommendation of Deputy Ombudsman for Luzon Victor Fernandez.

The hold departure order against the lawmaker was likewise lifted.

Prosecutor Roland Galvan, who had been authorized by Fernandez, filed a motion to withdraw information last Nov. 29 on Malapitan’s cases.

The Ombudsman declared that after a re-evaluation of the cases, graft probers found the evidence against the lawmaker insufficient to stand in a trial. Malapitan faces five counts of graft and five counts of falsification of public documents.

Government prosecutors said Malapitan’s cases stemmed from allegations he made misrepresentations when he certified as "true and correct" the payroll of the city council between August to December 2000, when he was still the city’s vice mayor.

Malapitan allegedly caused the government undue injury when, as concurrent chairman and presiding officer of the Caloocan City Council, he made it appear that consultant Eduardo Wagayen was paid a P15,000 monthly honoraria even if he already resigned in February 2000.

Falsification charges, meantime, were based on his alleged misrepresentation in an official document, like the payroll of staff and personnel of the city council. But a reinvestigation showed the case had no leg to stand on.