Sandigan affirms Nueva Ecija execs’ graft conviction

By Elizabeth Marcelo

PANTABANGAN, Nueva Ecija -- The Sandiganbayan has upheld the graft conviction of the municipal accountant and treasurer of this town for their failure to remit contributions of an employee to the Government Service Insurance System (GSIS) from 2007 to 2010.
    The anti-graft court’s Sixth Division said Rosita Yang and Jorja Palacio, accountant and treasurer, respectively, failed to raise any meritorious argument in their joint motion for reconsideration that would have warranted the reversal of the ruling.
    Yang and Palacio were found guilty of 33 and 26 counts, respectively, of violation of Republic Act 8291 or the Government Service Insurance Act of 1997 on January 29.
    They were sentenced to one to two years in prison for each count of the offense
    Yang was ordered to pay a fine of P330,000 while Palacio was fined P260,000.
    The anti-graft court earlier dismissed the charges filed against the principal accused, former Pantabangan mayor Romeo Borja Sr., by virtue of his death last year.
    Filed by the Office of the Ombudsman in 2013, the charges stemmed from a complaint filed by Gerardo Sator, secretary to the Office of the Vice Mayor.
    The ombudsman said the accused failed to remit Sator’s GSIS contributions for 33 months amounting to P32,071.
    The amount was deducted from Sator’s monthly salary from 2007 to 2010.