Former Mayor Magdalena K. Lupoyon of Barlig, Mountain Province and five other town officials have been found guilty by the Sandiganbayan of two graft charges for using donated funds without public bidding.
In the first graft charge, Lupoyon was convicted together with municipal treasurer Albert T. Marafo.
In the second case, Lupoyon and Marafo were found guilty together with Vice Mayor Edmundo C. Sidchayao, Sangguniang Bayan members Clark Chatonga Ngaya and Fernando Yacam-ma Cablog, and municipal engineer Danilo Rabina Lucas.
All of them were sentenced to a prison term ranging from six to eight years in each case with perpetual disqualification from holding public office.
On June 26, 2009, Lupoyon and Marafo initiated the repair or renovation of the pathway leading to Mount Amuyao at P50,000 without public bidding. Then on Dec. 23, 2002, Lupoyon and her co-accused started the construction of the open gymnasium at P2.5 million.
The town officials who participated in the projects and in the disbursements of the donated funds were charged with violations of Section 10 of Republic Act No. 9184, the Government Procurement Reform Act, and its implementing rules and regulations.
During trial, Lupoyon did not dispute that the transactions were done without public bidding. He claimed that since the money for the pathway renovation came from the donation of GMA Network, there was no need to subject the donated funds to government accounting and auditing rules and regulations.
But the Sandiganbayan said that Lupoyon's actions constituted evident bad faith and gross inexcusable negligence. As the local chief executive, Lupoyon was expected to know the proper procedure in the procurement and awarding of supplies and other projects, the court said.
In the pathway renovation, the court said that Lupoyon did away with competitive public bidding and "took it upon herself to appoint the workers for the clearing, cleaning, and improvement of the pathway to the summit of Mt. Amuyao," the court said. She was also the one who determined how much a wage worker was to be paid per day, the court added.
In the case of Marafo, the court faulted him for failing to exercise proper management of the donated funds.
"Indeed, the improvement/construction of the pathway to Mt. Amuyao was a laudable project," the court said. "Nonetheless, the accused should have acted in a circumspect manner to observe the law in order to promote transparency in the handling of government funds," it stressed.
Of the P3 million donated by ABS-CBN Corporation for the construction of an open gym, Lupoyon admitted that there was no public bidding conducted for the P2.5 million portion of the funds, and only P500,000 was subjected to bidding.
Lupoyon even stated in her July 14, 2009 letter that the open gym "will not follow the government procedures due to the following reasons: to maximize the use of money; to avoid the long process of bidding; and to allow participation of the labor force from the involved community."
The anti-graft court said Lupoyon’s actions deprived the municipality of the opportunity to obtain the lowest bid for the construction of the open gym.
The decision was written by Associate Justice Ronald B. Moreno with the concurrence of Associate Justices Bernelito R. Fernandez and Kevin Narce B. Vivero. Presiding Justice Amparo M. Cabotaje-Tang and Associate Justice Maria Theresa V. Mendoza-Arcega dissented.