2 DA officials, college instructor sacked for faking documents

MANILA, Philippines - Ombudsman Conchita Carpio-Morales has ordered the dismissal from government service of two Department of Agriculture (DA) officials and an instructor of a state-run college in Bulacan for misappropriating public funds and falsifying documents.

In a 24-page decision, the Ombudsman found Ponciano Vinuya, DA regional field unit III project coordinator, and instructor Julita Ponce of the  Bulacan Agricultural State College guilty of grave misconduct and serious dishonesty while DA-RFU III cashier Elena Miranda was found guilty of serious dishonesty.

?The decision said that in November 2001, the Philippine Coconut Authority transferred P4.9 million of Ginuntuang Masaganang Ani High Value Commercial Crops program (GMA-HVCC) funds to the DA-RFU III for its project implementation.

The DA-RFU III in turn engaged the services of the Philippine Agriculture and Resources Research Foundation Inc. (PARRFI) as a non-government organization-partner to conduct an impact assessment for the GMA-HVCC program at the cost of P3 million. 

The Special Audit Report submitted by the Commission on Audit (COA) showed that the official receipt, vouchers and other supporting documents used in the liquidation were falsified, as the actual amount paid to PARRFI was only P150,000 and not P750,000 as claimed by Miranda. 

The COA verification showed that no trainings were conducted in the school, plus the alleged attendance sheets do not indicate the trainings and dates. 

Meals obtained were also considered as overpriced with Ponce signing the official receipt in behalf of Dang’s Catering Services.

??The COA also reported that liquidation vouchers and supporting documents for Miranda’s cash advances totaling P847,765 were all falsified by Vinuya.

Cicero Garcia, owner of Manyaman Keni Restaurant, also denied having transacted with DA-RFU III in August 2002. 

The Bureau of Internal Revenue also certified that the restaurant did not reflect the alleged transaction as part of their sales.

?Aside from dismissal from the service, Vinuya, Ponce and Miranda's retirement benefits have been ordered forfeited. The three are also barred for life from holding government office.

?Meanwhile, the charges against former DA RFU III Regional Director Pepito De Dote were dismissed on account of his death in 2009 while the case against accountant Narcisa Maningding was dismissed for lack of substantial evidence.