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Sandiganbayan convicts 2 ex-DepEd Region 9 officials in P75-M graft case
Sandiganbayan convicts 2 ex-DepEd Region 9 officials in P75-M graft case
Former Department of Education (DepEd) Region IX Director Jesus L. Nieves and Admin Officer V Crisologo L. Singson of Pagadian City have been found guilty by the Sandiganbayan of their graft charge due to the irregular procurement of multimedia packages for P75 million in 2007.
They have been sentenced to a jail term ranging from six to 10 years with perpetual disqualification from holding public office in the decision written by First Division Chairperson Efren N. De La Cruz with the concurrence of Associate Justices Geraldine Faith A. Econg and Edgardo M. Caldona.
The case against their co-accused, private individual Vina Tuparan, has been ordered archived pending her arrest.
The prosecution charged Nieves and Singson in connection with the award to Tuparan of Northgate Technologies, Inc. of the contract for multimedia packages without the conduct of public bidding in violation of Section 3(e) of Republic Act No. 3019, the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act.
In its decision, the anti-graft court said that Nieves and Singson acted with manifest partiality and evident bad faith when they awarded the contract to Northgate on the basis of a fake special allotment release order (SARO).
While there are exceptions to the rule of competitive public bidding, the court said that there was no proof in this case that the conditions for its application were complied with.
"This goes against the rationale behind the requirement of a public bidding which is to ensure that the people get maximum benefits and quality services from the contracts," the decision stated.
The anti-graft court added that the entire procurement process was "precipitously done" as it was completed within just 12 days.
"Accused Nieves' and Singson's years of experience in the DepEd and their educational background should have prompted them to likewise notice the aforementioned irregularities prior to or even during the procurement of the multimedia packages. That they ignored these patent irregularities on the face of the SARO without justifiable reason reveals their intent to do wrong upon the government," the court said.