The Sandiganbayan has convicted former Mayor Ricardo S. Rivera of Guagua, Pampanga of graft charge due to the unfinished construction of the town’s slaughterhouse in 2009.

Rivera has been sentenced to an indeterminate penalty of six to eight years imprisonment with perpetual disqualification from holding public office.

Rivera's violation of Section 3(e) of Republic Act No. 3019, the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act, was due to the failure of NC's General Contractor to finish the construction of the slaughterhouse on or before Dec. 20, 2009.

In its ruling, the anti-graft court’s fourth division said that Rivera did not exert any effort to implement any contingency measure to ensure the completion of the project.

In his defense, Rivera claimed the delay was due to fortuitous events such as typhoons and torrential rains that resulted in heavy flooding. However, the court said that the Situational Reports, which were offered to prove heavy flooding in the municipality, have no probative value.

"This Court finds that accused Rivera acted with gross inexcusable negligence when he failed to take appropriate action to ensure the completion of the construction of the Guagua Municipal Slaughterhouse within the period fixed in the contract and to institute proper legal action against NC's General Contractor without justifiable reason," the Sandiganbayan said.

By failing to terminate the contract and enforce the payment of liquidated damages despite the contractor's failure to complete and deliver the subject slaughterhouse on time, the court ruled that the contractor was given unwarranted benefits, advantage, and preference.

"His gross negligence is very apparent considering that what takes only 240 days to build became operational only after 10 years," the court said.

"Ten years is too long a time for the construction of a single slaughterhouse. The only logical conclusion is that the local chief executive miserably failed in his duty to exercise control and supervision over the project of his municipal government," it stressed.

The 34-page decision was written by division Chairperson Alex L. Quiroz with the concurrence of Associate Justices Lorifel L. Pahimna and Bayani H. Jacinto.