Ex-Capas, Tarlac mayor, 3 more convicted of graft

CAPAS, Tarlac -- Former mayor Hermes Frias of this town and three others have been found guilty of two counts of graft by the Sandiganbayan First Division, and have been sentenced to a maximum of 20 years imprisonment.

Frias, together with former Municipal Administrative Officer Gener Taruc, former Municipal Accountant Rolando Domingo, and former Municipal Budget Officer Nick Ayuyao, were earlier charged with three counts of graft as well as one count each of falsification and malversation.

This was for the purchase of several items from different suppliers even though the latter were not licensed and authorized to do business by the Department of Trade and Industry.

For the first two graft charges, Frias and his co-accused purchased items worth P241,146.05 from S&E Enterprises and P456,635.43 from Gem Trading sometime between October 1996 to June 1997.

For the next graft charge, they approved the payment of P18,915 for the purchase of electronic calculators from Samie Sicat on March 22, 1997, even though there were no pertinent documents to support the purchase and delivery of the item.

Frias and the others were charged with falsification and malversation due to the falsified official receipts of 716 Enterprise owned by Roberto Rebosa between April 25 to June 20, 1997.

They reportedly made it appear that 42 pails of chlorbocide were purchased even though none was really made, so the amount P711,320.40 was liquidated from the government.

The defense tried to argue that Gem Trading was already operating in other localities such as Quezon City, Cagayan, and Batangas. But the court found this reasoning “untenable.”

“Common sense also dictates that it is highly incredulous that the municipality went canvassing from as far as the said provinces just to procure rice and mango seedlings,” the court ruled.

Frias and the others also defended themselves by saying that S&E Enterprises was registered in the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). But based on DTI records, S&E was only registered in 2005.

Both testimonial and documentary evidence sufficiently prove that the accused acted with evident bad faith, manifest partiality, and gross inexcusable negligence when they entered into transactions with the unlicensed suppliers, the court ruled.

However, the same cannot be said of their falsification and malversation charges. While Sicat said that his name was used by the accused to facilitate the calculator transaction, he did not execute an affidavit or sworn statement. He was neither presented as a witness.

At the same time, no credible witness was presented to testify that the calculators were not delivered. The court ruled that the presumption is that there was regularity in the purchase and delivery of the items.

As for the purchase of 42 pails of chlorbocide, the court said that the non-delivery of the items has not been proven as well. It was the supplier, Rebosa, who said during the audit investigation that the official receipts they sent were blank.

However, Rebosa was not presented as a witness. The prosecution also failed to present any expert witness who can compare the signature of Rebosa to that of signatures appearing on the reportedly falsified receipts.

“Hence, the presumption of validity and regularity prevails over allegations of forgery and fraud,” the court ruled.

Frias and his co-accused were acquitted of their other graft charge, as well as falsification and malversation charges.

The 29-page decision was penned by Associate Justice Efren Dela Cruz with the concurrence of Associate Justices Geraldine Faith Econg and Edgardo Caldona.