The Sandiganbayan has affirmed the conviction of four former Department of Transportation and Communications (DOTC) officials and a private individual over the irregular purchase of P6 million worth of cellular telephones in 2005.
Denied were the motions for partial reconsidetration filed by former DOTC directors Ildefonso T. Patdu, Jr., Elmer Soneja, and Rebecca S. Cacatian; legal officer Geronimo V. Quintos, and businessman Samuel Jonathan L. Ng.
The former DOTC officials were sentenced to five to 10 years imprisonment because of the manifest partiality given to Ng's company, which was awarded the contract for the procurement of mobile phones even without the conduct of public bidding. The Commission on Audit (COA) even flagged Ng's company, West Island Beverages Distributor, for not being an authorized dealer of cellular phones.
The main accused, former Iloilo 2nd District Rep. Judy J. Syjuco, already entered into a plea bargaining agreement with the prosecution and pleaded guilty to defrauding the public treasury.
In their motions, those convicted claimed there was no act of conspiracy to commit graft, as they insisted that the purchase of cell phones was done in accordance with the procurement law and rules.
However, the anti-graft court found their motions lacking in merit. The court said that the accused cannot "feign ignorance" regarding the procurement law. As members of the bids and awards committee, the court said that they should have, at the very least, held an independent determination to verify the exclusivity of the source of the cell phones - which is the only time direct contracting is allowed.
"In sum, the Court finds no new and/or substantial arguments raised by the accused-movants in their partial motions for reconsideration that would warrant a reconsideration of the Court's Decision promulgated on June 7, 2024," the court said.
The 25-page resolution was written by Presiding Justice Amparo M. Cabotaje-Tang with the concurrence of Associate Justices Bernelito R. Fernandez and Ronald B. Moreno.