The Sandiganbayan has acquitted former Iloilo 5th District congressman Rolex T. Suplico of graft charge in the alleged misuse of his P14.7 million Priority Development Assistance Fund (PDAF) in 2007.
In a decision handed down last Jan. 12, the court said the totality of evidence against Suplico was insufficient to prove that he acted with manifest partiality, evident bad faith, or gross inexcusable negligence in violation of the anti-graft law.
"In sum, the Court finds that the prosecution failed to establish conspiracy beyond a reasonable doubt. As a result, accused Suplico is liable only for the consequences of his own acts, which, as discussed above, are insufficient to establish the second and third elements of violation of Section 3(e) of the anti-graft law under the present charge," the court ruled.
Suplico was charged with graft due to the reportedly irregular implementation of the livelihood and development projects worth P15 million for the 5th District of Iloilo. From his P15 million PDAF, a total of P14.7 million was transferred to the non-government organization Aaron Foundation Philippines, Inc. (AFPI) despite several irregularities, the prosecution alleged.
He was charged together with former Technology Resource Center (TRC) director general Antonio Y. Ortiz and AFPI President Alfredo A. Ronquillo. The case against Ortiz has been ordered archived pending his arrest, while the court had dismissed Ronquillo's case in view of his death.
The anti-graft court said that while the prosecution accused Suplico of not exerting effort "to ensure [the accomplishment of] the purpose of releasing the PDAF allocation and he did not act 'to account' the fund,'" the lack of effort to ensure project implementation and fund liquidation could not be attributed to Suplico.
It said the responsibility falls on TRC as the agency tasked to implement the project. "Moreover, ensuring to implement the project and to liquidate the fund are post-transfer activities. Hence, they could hardly be considered irregularities that attended the PDAF transfer," it pointed out.
While there were questions on AFPI’s eligibility as project partner, the court said these issues do not automatically lead to a finding of manifest partiality, evident bad faith, or gross inexcusable negligence against Suplico.
At the same time, the court said: "Significantly, the records indicate no evidence that accused Suplico demanded or accepted bribe money or commission in exchange for his supposed endorsement of AFPI.”
The 30-page decision was written by Associate Justice Maryann E. Corpus-Mañalac with the concurrence of Fifth Division Chairperson Associate Justice Rafael R. Lagos and Associate Justice Maria Theresa V. Mendoza-Arcega.