2 former DepEd officials convicted of graft over P24M textbook scam

The Sandiganbayan Second Division has convicted two former officials of the Department of Education (DepEd) Culture and Sports Regional Office VIII of their graft charge due to the irregular purchase of textbooks worth P24 million back in 1998.

Former Chief Accountant Emilia Aranas and former Chief of the Budget and Finance Division Ernesto Guiang were sentenced to suffer the indeterminate penalty of imprisonment of six years and one month as minimum to 10 years as maximum, with perpetual disqualification from holding public office.

The two of them conspired with Mary Ann Maslog, former agent and representative of Esteem Enterprises, and processed the payment of Department of Budget and Management Sub-Allotment Release Order Nos. OSEC-8-98-015 dated February 3, 1998 for P10 million and OSEC-8-98-062 dated June 22, 1998 for P14 million despite the fact that these were falsified.

These were used as the basis for payment for Esteem Enterprises in the purchase of textbooks and supplementary materials.

Aranas said in her defense that she relied on the authenticity and existence of the two Sub-AROs considering that the signatures of DECS officials appeared authentic to her. However, the court said that as Chief Accountant, she was duty-bound to verify the authenticity of the documents.

Concerned employees of DECS Central Office have already testified that the subject Sub-AROs are not within their records. However, Aranas and Guiang went on with the payment of the obligation despite the fact that there was no Notice of Cash Allocation and Funding Checks issued by the Central Office.

"The Court finds that the prosecution has sufficiently proved that the acts of the accused in proceeding with the payment of the Sub-AROs despite the non-issuance of the required Notice of Cash Allocation was done through evident bad faith and through their gross negligence, knowing fully well that there was no such Sub-ARO and Notice of Cash Allocation to fund the payment of the purchase of the textbooks and supplementary materials," the decision read.

The 45-page decision was penned by Associate Justice Lorifel Pahimna with the concurrence of Sixth Division Chairperson Oscar Herrera Jr. and Associate Justice Michael Frederick Musngi.