MikeLigalig.com

Ombudsman dismisses 9 PDAF, Malampaya scams respondents

MANILA, Jan. 12 (PNA) -- The Office of the Ombudsman (Ombudsman) has ordered the dismissal from the service of nine executives from the National Council for Muslim Filipinos (NCMF), Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR) and a Chief for Political Affairs for their alleged involvement in the Priority Development Assistance Fund (PDAF) and Malampaya scams.

Found guilty of grave misconduct and conduct prejudicial to the best interest of the service were NCMF officials Mehol Sadain, Fedelina Aldanese, Galay Makalinggan, Sania Busran, Aurora Aragon-Mabang, Olga Galido and Michael Benjamin, the political affairs chief of former Senator Gregorio Honasan.

The Ombudsman also ordered their perpetual disqualification from holding public office.

The Ombudsman said that Sadain, et. al. “participated in the preparation, processing and approval of the Memorandum of Agreement and the PDAF documents governing the project implementation and fund releases to Focus Development Goals Foundation, as NGO partner.”

In its in-depth probe, the Ombudsman found that in April 2012, the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) released PHP30 million as part of Honasan’s PDAF with the NCMF as implementing agency.

The fund was intended to finance small and medium enterprise/livelihood projects for the benefit of Muslim Filipinos in communities in the National Capital Region (NCR) and Zambales province.

Documents showed that in June 2012, Honasan indorsed Focus Development as NGO-partner without compliance with procurement regulations.

The Ombudsman said that the check dated May 30, 2012 and disbursement voucher approving the payment “were prepared by public respondents in favor of Focus even before the NGO was informed that it was found qualified to undertake the project on June 4, 2012; that the MOA was signed by the Office of Senator Honasan, NCMF and Focus; and that Honasan authorized the release of funds to Focus.”

Honasan, et.al. facilitated and approved the payment in favor of Focus via two tranches totaling PHP29.1 million.

Ombudsman Conchita Carpio Morales said that “the respondents were not performing ministerial acts when they signed the disbursement vouchers and checks for the release of funds to Focus.”

In a separate ruling, the Ombudsman also ordered the dismissal from the service of Teresita Panlilio and Ronald Venancio, both from the DAR.

Panlilio and Venancio were found guilty of grave misconduct and ordered perpetually barred from holding public office.

Panlilio and Venancio are among the 25 respondents facing two counts of plunder and multiple graft and malversation charges after the Ombudsman established their indispensable acts of participation in the illegal diversion of PHP900 million from the Malampaya funds.

The PHP900 million was then downloaded to the DAR and distributed to 12 NGOs backed by businesswoman Janet Lim Napoles.

Napoles is the alleged “brains” behind the PHP10-billion pork barrel and the PHP900-million Malampaya fund scams.

Ombudsman probers found that the fund was used to implement “ghost projects” as the documents were all fictitious and there were no deliveries of agricultural kits or packages.

The respondents also allegedly manufactured the lists of farmer-beneficiaries and forged the signatures of the recipients. (PNA)

Linkback: https://tubagbohol.mikeligalig.com/index.php?topic=84830.0