The Sandiganbayan has affirmed its decision that convicted former Quezon City councilor and television host and actor Roderick M. Paulate and his driver and liaison officer, Vicente E. Bajamunde, in the hiring of “ghost” employees in 2010.
With the ruling, the anti-graft court denied the motions filed by Paulate and Bajamunde against the judgment of conviction handed down on Nov. 25, 2022.
The decision imposed on them a prison term ranging from six to eight years for graft. They were also ordered to indemnify, jointly and severally, the Quezon City government P1,109,000 which was used to hire the “ghost” employees.
Paulate was also convicted in nine falsification charges and ordered to pay a fine of P10,000 for each count. He was also sentenced to a prison term of six months and one day to six years and one day for each case of falsification of public documents.
Bajamunde, on the other hand, was acquitted of his falsification charges for failure of the prosecution to prove his guilt beyond reasonable doubt.
In their motion for reconsideration, they argued that they had no knowledge that the job contractors were fictitious. They added that there was no attempt on the part of the prosecution to prove that they knew they (the job contractors) did not exist.
Paulate said that he saw people working. But he told the court he did not know the workers by their names and faces. He insisted that it was an "absurdity and impossibility" that he should have checked and verified each of the job contractors since he had no reason to believe they were fictitious.
However, the Sandiganbayan junked the allegations in a resolution issued last Jan. 23. "The court maintains its findings that the prosecution sufficiently established that it was accused who falsified or caused the falsification of the personal date sheets, job order contracts, and general payrolls.”
"In view of the foregoing, the court finds no cogent reason to warrant the reconsideration of the assailed decision," the court ruled.
Associate Justice Zaldy V. Trespeses wrote the 26-page resolution with the concurrence of Seventh Division Chairperson Ma. Theresa Dolores C. Gomez-Estoesta and Associate Justice Georgina D. Hidalgo.
TAGS: #Sandiganbayan #Roderick Paulate #’Ghost’ employees