A private individual pleaded guilty to a lesser offense of frauds against public treasury, instead of violation of the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act, and was ordered to pay a fine of P1,000 by the Sandiganbayan.
In a resolution, the anti-graft court granted the motion for plea bargaining filed by Derek Gerard Glass, one of the co-accused of former Catanduanes governor Leandro Verceles and other provincial officials in a graft case involving the alleged irregular purchase of P3.25 million fertilizer in 2004.
Plea bargaining in a criminal case is when an accused, with the conformity of the prosecution, pleads guilty to a lesser offense for a lighter penalty. The plea bargaining needs approval by the court.
Frauds against public treasury is an offense lesser than violation of the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act.
In 2020 when Glass was still at-large, Verceles, together with provincial treasurer Julieta Tasarra, provincial department head Rodolfo Maliñana, assistant provincial assessor Abelardo Abundo Jr., and private individuals Deonilla and Reginald Gregorio, also pleaded guilty to the lesser offense of frauds against the public treasury instead of graft. Their pleas had been granted by the anti-graft court.
They had been charged with graft in the purchase of 2,166 liters of Bio-Nature Biological Fertilizer at P1,500 per liter or a total of P3,250,000 through direct contracting, a violation of Republic Act No. 9184, the Government Procurement Reform Act, and its revised implementing rules and regulation.
The three-page resolution in Glass' case was written by First Division Chairperson Efren N. de la Cruz with the concurrence of Associate Justices Geraldine Faith A. Econg and Arthur O. Malabaguio.