MANILA, Philippines – The anti-graft court Sandiganbayan on Monday, July 10, upheld the conviction of a former congressman from Bukidnon and two others for eight counts of graft and four counts of malversation of public funds due to bogus purchases using more than P30 million in Priority Development Assistance Fund .
The ruling was made with the concurrence of Associate Justices Rafael Lagos and Arthur Malabaguio. Associate Justice Michael Frederick Musngi dissented, while Associate Justice Lorifel Lacap Pahimna concurred in Musngi’s dissent.Part of the decision read: “FDC, through its officers, thus clearly acquired custody of and control over the subject funds.
The Sandiganbayan also found insufficient evidence to convict former TRC group manager Francisco Figura, budget officer Consuelo Lilian Espiritu, and chief accountant Marivic Jover of any criminal charge.It was the second time for the ex-congressman to be convicted in six months of criminal offenses related to his PDAF.
The defendants had said that the evidence presented against them were not enough to prove they had conspired.