Four officials from the Philippine Health Insurance Corporation (PhilHealth) have been cleared by the Sandiganbayan Special Second Division of their nine graft charges involving the irregular payments made to a private corporation for the insurance of several government-owned vehicles in 2000 to 2001.
Senior Vice President for Management Services Reynaldo Dalma, Vice President for Finance Gregorio Rulloda, Administrative Officer V Joseph Vergara, and Administrative Officer IV Maribeth Sincuya were acquitted of their nine charges in violation of Section 3(e) of R.A. 3019, the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act.
They were accused of paying several amounts to BF General Insurance Company, Inc. (BFGICI) for the Comprehensive Insurance Premium of vehicles owned by PhilHealth, even though all government properties should only be insured with the Government Service Insurance System (GSIS).
P30,213.98 was paid on March 9, 2000; P38,803.77 on May 31, 2000; P46,278.33 on June 2, 2000; P128,983.53 on April 5, 2000); P269,396.68 on November 15, 2000; P13,699.49 on December 6, 2000; P95,728.02 on April 6, 2001; P20,989.86 on March 30, 2001; and P76,785.18 on May 16, 2001.
In its ruling, the anti-graft court said that the prosecution failed to overcome its burden of proving beyond reasonable doubt that the accused committed graft.
The prosecution alleged that the accused acted with evident bad faith, manifest partiality, and gross inexcusable negligence when they approved disbursement vouchers in favor of (BFGICI).
However, the court said that the purchase of the insurance policies was initiated by Office Order No. 568, Series of 2000, issued by then PhilHealth President and CEO Enrique Zalmea, who was not even included in the charges.
The selection of BFGICI was based on the lowest bid made, and the accused had no direct participation in the selection of BFGICI. In fact, the approval of the subject disbursement vouchers was part of their official duties.
"They had to rely on the recommendations of those who conducted the canvassing and the evaluation of the potential insurers. These DVs had the required supporting documents of canvass and proof of the selection process," the court explained.
It was also worthy to note, according to the Sandiganbayan, that when the PhilHealth officials learned that they were mandated to insure only with the GSIS, they returned their contracts with GSIS.
Dalma, Rulloda, Vergara, and Sincuya were all cleared of their graft charges. Since the prosecution failed to establish that the acts of the accused are felonious in character, the fact from which civil liability might arise does not exist.
Meanwhile, the charges against another co-accused, Department Manager Nadya Castillo of Administrative Services, have been dismissed in light of her death.
The 36-page decision was written by Associate Justice Michael Frederick Musngi with the concurrence of Associate Justices Bayani Jacinto and Maryann Corpus-Mañalac.
Second Division Chairperson Oscar Herrera Jr. and Associate Justice Ronald Moreno offered dissenting opinions.