MANILA, Philippines - For awarding a P1.2-million contract without public bidding, two former officials of the Cagayan State University (CSU) were sentenced to 10 years imprisonment for graft, the Office of the Ombudsman announced yesterday.
Former CSU president Armando Cortes and vice president for administrative affairs Joseph Acorda were also permanently barred from holding public office.
In a 47-page decision penned by Sandiganbayan Presiding Justice Amparo Cabotaje-Tang, the anti-graft court found the two guilty of awarding a contract to a private firm without a public bidding 17 years ago.
Cortes and Acorda, who was the chairman of the pre-qualification, bids, and awards committee (PBAC), were charged for entering into a P1.2-million computer contract in 1996 with the ACI Aneco Computers, Inc. in 1996.
The Commission on Audit found out that the deal was made without a public bidding.
The Sandiganbayan said the company profited from the transaction, to the disadvantage of the government.