The Sandiganbayan has affirmed the graft conviction of the former regional secretary of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources in the then Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (DENR-ARMM).
Affirmed was the conviction of Sultan Usman T. Sarangani who was found guilty in 16 counts of violations of Section 3(e) of Republic Act No. 3019, the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act, due to the irregular purchase of office supplies and equipment worth P3.76 million in 2010.
In a decision promulgated last Feb. 6, the anti-graft court sentenced Sarangani to six to seven years imprisonment for each graft conviction with perpetual disqualification from holding public office.
He filed a motion for reconsideration and argued that the evidence presented by the prosecution are all photocopies and the witnesses even admitted that they had no personal knowledge of the subject transactions.
He also said the testimonies of the witnesses are inadmissible for being hearsay, as he claimed that his signatures in the subject documents were forged.
At the same time, Sarangani said he could not be faulted for the irregular bid process since lack of public bidding alone does not result in manifest advantage and gross disadvantage.
However, the anti-graft court disagreed and dismissed his motion for being bereft of merit.
"Accused Sarangani failed to cast doubt on the authenticity of the originals of the said documents. Neither did he show that it is unjust or inequitable to admit the duplicates of the said documents in lieu of the originals," the court said.
As for Sarangani's argument concerning the witnesses, the court said: "It bears stressing that none of the prosecution's witnesses testified on the events surrounding the subject transactions. The said witnesses only testified on the records in their custody, or the lack thereof."
Also, the court said that Sarangani failed to prove that his signatures were indeed forged.
"Contrary to accused Sarangani's claim, his conviction was not solely on the basis of the irregularities in the bidding process or lack of public bidding. In the assailed decision, the Court discussed at length that accused Sarangani... acted with manifest partiality, or at the very least, gross inexcusable negligence by deliberately ignoring the irregularities in the subject procurements," the court also said.
The 10-page resolution dated March 19, 2025 was written by Sixth Division Chairperson Associate Justice Sarah Jane T. Fernandez with the concurrence of Associate Justices Kevin Narce B. Vivero and Karl B. Miranda.