Sandiganbayan acquits water district officials of graft

The Sandiganbayan First Division recently cleared of graft charges six officials of the Gingoog City Water District  in Misamis Oriental.

Acquitted of the charges for violation of Section 3 (e) of R.A. No. 3019 were Felicidad Sia, chairman of the board of directors of the GCWD; Reme­dios Rodriguez, Ireneo Pas­cual, Evelyn Rañises and Napoleon Valdevilla, all mem­bers of the board of directors; and Nicolas Teatro, GCWD general manager.

The cash and/or property bonds posted by the accused were cancelled.

The hold departure orders against the accused were also ordered by the Sandigan­bayan to be lifted.

The 17-page decision was penned by First Division Associate Justice Alexander Ges­mun­do and concurred in by Associate Justices Diosda­do Peralta and Rodolfo Pon­fer­rada. In acquitting the government officials, the magistrates said the prosecution failed to prove all the elements of the crime charged against the accused.

Government prosecutors said that on Dec. 18, 1996, the accused allegedly “deliberately refusing to submit and make available to the Commission on Audit (COA) representatives the financial record and books of accounts as well as other official documents relative to the fiscal transactions of the Gingoog City Water District for periodic audit by the COA.” Despite repeated requests by the regional director of Region X, the chairman of the said Commission and the Deputy Administrator of the Local Water Utilities Administration, the prosecutors said the accused continuously refused to allow the COA to audit the GCWD’s accounts and operations without valid justification.

The accused also enacted GCWD Resolution No. 44-96 dated Dec. 18, 1996, making the GCWD as a pilot project in the proscription of audit of COA, thereby preventing the COA from performing its constitutional mandate and seeing to it that the financial transactions and operations are in accordance with law, rules and regulations to the damage and prejudice of the government and public interest, prosecutors also said.

The prosecution claimed that then accused were guilty under the indictment as they acted with evident bad faith when they refused to allow the COA to audit the GCWD’s accounts and financial re­cords. – Sandy Araneta