Sandigan convicts ex-CamSur mayor, 3 others

The Sandiganbayan sentenced a former mayor and three other officials of the Camarines Sur town of Jose Panganiban to nine years in jail each after finding them guilty of fund malversation.

Those convicted for misappropriating a P35,000 financial aid were former mayor Arnulfo Arenal, former vice mayor Lily Alegre, management audit analyst Wynefreda Begara, and municipal engineer Rosario Dumlao.

The case stemmed from the P35,000 financial grant which the Department of Agriculture (DA) gave the municipality in 1989 for the purchase of a patrol boat engine.

Court records showed that Arenal, with the help of his co-accused, withdrew the money from the bank where the DA had deposited it but failed to use it to purchase the engine which should have provided the town a fast patrol boat to secure its coastal waters from illegal fishing.

The assistance was part of the DA’s Livelihood Enhancement for Agriculture Development-Buklod Yaman program, of which Jose Pangani–ban and other towns in Camarines Norte were the beneficiaries. – Karlo Baylosis