The Sandiganbayan has convicted former Quezon City councilor and television host and actor Roderick M. Paulate and his driver and liaison officer, Vicente E. Bajamunde, of their criminal charges in the hiring of “ghost” employees in 2010.
Paulate and Bajamunde were both convicted of graft and were sentenced to six to eight years imprisonment. They were also ordered to indemnify, jointly and severally, the amount of P1,109,000 representing the public funds used to hire the “ghost” employees.
Paulate was convicted of nine falsification charges and ordered to pay a fine of P10,000 for each count or a total of P90,000. He was also sentenced to six months and one day to six years and one day for each count of falsification.
Bajamunde, on the other hand, was acquitted of his falsification charges for failure of the prosecution to prove his guilt beyond reasonable doubt.
In its 130-page decision, the anti-graft court said that the job order employees have no records of birth, and none of them have even been asked to present a clearance from the National Bureau of Investigation.
The court said the job order workers could neither be located at their given residences nor are they registered voters of their respective barangays. They likewise have no records in the schools where they allegedly attended, it said.
Paulate and the other defense witnesses said that they are not familiar with the job contractors, and they have not met with them yet, the court said. "Only one thing comes to our mind: they know that there is nothing to verify because the job contractors do not exist,” it pointed out.
It added that the documents used to hire the job contractors originated from the office of Paulate, so "it was he who took advantage of his position and used the documents to obligate the funds and disburse the same."
Even if Paulate asked someone else to prepare the falsified documents, the court said there is no question that he was its author.
Associate Justice Zaldy V. Trespeses wrote the decision with the concurrence of Chairperson Ma. Theresa Dolores C. Gomez-Estoesta and Associate Justice Georgina D. Hidalgo.
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