The Sandiganbayan has affirmed the conviction of former acting general manager Jamaloden H. Faisal of the Tugaya Water District in Lanao del Sur for graft and malversation of public funds in the P10 million water supply improvement project in 2011.
Affirmed were Faisal's six to 10 years prison term for graft and a maximum of 40 years imprisonment (reclusion perpetua) for malversation of public funds.
On top of perpetual disqualification to hold public office, also upheld were the anti-graft court's orders for Faisal to pay a fine of P10.07 million and to return P10.07 million to the Bureau of Treasury.
Faisal's co-accused, Nascon Builders General Manager Alkahin Ebrahim, remains at large. The case against him has been ordered archived pending his arrest.
In filing the cases before the Sandiganbayan, the prosecutors said that the construction for the water supply improvement project was never implemented, and that the whole project was fictitious and non-existent.
The prosecutors also said that Faisal liquidated the amount of P10,074,680, which was received from the Local Water Utilities Administration (LWUA), through the Physical Accomplishment Report as of July 2011 prepared by Ebrahim.
In his motion for reconsideration, Faisal told the court that he was never appointed general manager of the water district and that there was falsification of his appointment documents.
In denying his motion, the court said that Faisal had waived his right to file the motion because he failed to appear during the promulgation of judgment of conviction. It pointed out that there was no justifiable cause for his absence, and, thus, he had lost his standing in court.
"Considering that accused-movant Faisal was out of bail during the trial, he is deemed to have jumped bail when he failed to appear at the promulgation of his sentence. It is settled that once an accused escapes from prison or confinement, jumps bail, or flees to a foreign country, he loses his standing in court," the court explained in its resolution.
"Unless he surrenders or submits to the jurisdiction of the court, he is deemed to have waived any right to seek relief from the court," it stressed.
At the same time, the court said it was not inclined to change its decision of conviction because the issues raised by Faisal "were a mere rehash of the basic issues which were already exhaustively passed upon, duly considered, and resolved in the assailed decision."
Associate Justice Ronald B. Moreno wrote the seven-page resolution with the concurrence of Presiding Justice Amparo M. Cabotaje-Tang and Associate Justice Bernelito R. Fernandez.