The Sandiganbayan has convicted former Maguindanao governor and incumbent Shariff Saydona Mustapha town Vice Mayor Datu Sajid Islam U. Ampatuan of graft and malversation of public funds charges in the irregular purchases of P16.3 million worth of food supplies in 2009.
Also convicted was former provincial budget officer Datuali Kanakan Abpi Al Haj.
Both Ampatuan and Al Haj were sentenced to six to 10 years imprisonment for their graft conviction, and 10 to 18 years jail term for malversation. They were also ordered to pay a fine of P16,317,559, the total amount malversed.
The cases against their co-accused, former provincial accountant John Estelito G. Dollosa Jr. and former provincial treasurer Osmena M. Bandila have been ordered archived pending their arrest.
The cases against former provincial administrator Norie K. Unas and former officer-in-charge of the provincial engineer’s office Landap Guinaid had been dismissed due to their deaths.
The anti-graft court found anomalous the purchases of various food supplies worth P16,317,559 from Henry Merchandising from Feb. 2 to Sept. 30, 2009. It agreed with the prosecutors that no public bidding was done in the 34 emergency purchases from Henry Merchandising, and no food deliveries were actually made because Henry Merchandising did not exist as an entity.
During trial, the prosecution successfully proved that Henry Merchandising was indeed "an unqualified bidder and supplier with a highly doubtful existence" as the company failed to submit documents showing its eligibility requirements, the court said.
Henry Merchandising likewise did not have an actual or physical store or warehouse where stocks of the items bought -- such as rice M-I, Maggi noodles, Young Town's sardine, brown sugar, and dried fish -- could be found, it said.
There were also mismatched dates in most of the documents, including the official receipts, purchase orders, and disbursement vouchers. These "omissions," said the court, could have easily been supplied if the transactions were legitimate.
However, the anti-graft court acquitted Ampatuan and Al Haj of their falsification charges because the prosecution failed to prove the element of malicious intent on the part of Ampatuan.
"In the absence of evidence to show that accused Sajid knew that there were no deliveries of food supplies to the recipients at the time he signed the subject DVs, this Court finds the evidence on record insufficient to sustain his conviction," the decision stated.
The 75-page decision was written by Associate Justice Maria Theresa V. Mendoza-Arcega with the concurrence of Fifth Division Chairperson Rafael R. Lagos and Associate Justice Maryann E. Corpus-Mañalac.