DOLE employee convicted of graft, estafa
29 December 2014
The Regional Trial Court of Manila convicted Labor Employment Officer III Martin Dela Merced III (a.k.a. Arnold Cruz) of violation of Section 3 (c) of Republic Act No. 3019 (Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act) and Estafa thru Falsification of Public Documents.
In the Decision rendered by Presiding Judge Reynaldo Ros, it was found that on 22 February 2006, Dela Merced demanded and received the amount of P7,000.00 in exchange for the issuance of an Occupational Safety and Health Practitioner Certificate of Accreditation.
Private complainant Rudy Cariaga, vice-president and treasurer of a security agency, narrated that he came to know Dela Merced, who introduced himself as Arnold Cruz, when he attended a bidding activity at Petron Corporation. As bidder, he was required to secure a basic occupational safety and health certificate as a safety practitioner from the Department of Labor and Employment-Bureau of Working Conditions (DOLE-BWC).
One week after submitting all the necessary documents, Cariaga received a text message from Dela Merced informing him that his application for accreditation was denied. Dela Merced then offered to fix his requirements for the approval of the accreditation in exchange for P12,000.00, which amount was later lowered to P7,000.00.
The court ruled that the “prosecution was able to prove that the accused falsified the signature of Director Villafuerte on the Occupational Safety and Health Practitioner (OSHP) Certificate of Accreditation No. 1033-060407-1551 which the accused used in deceiving complainant Rudy L. Cariaga in exchange for the amount of P7,000.00†and that “the accused appropriated and converted the money for his own use.â€
In view of his conviction for violation of the anti-graft law, Dela Merced was sentenced to suffer the indeterminate penalty of six years and one month as minimum to seven years as maximum and perpetual special disqualification from public office. He was also sentenced to suffer the indeterminate penalty of two years and four months of prision correccional as minimum to six years of prision correccional as maximum and to pay the fine of P5,000.00 for his conviction for Estafa thru Falsification of Public Document.
Dela Merced was also ordered to return the P7,000.00 he received from Cariaga.
Section 3(c) of R.A. No. 3019 prohibits public employees from “directly or indirectly requesting or receiving any gift, present or other pecuniary or material benefit, for himself or for another, from any person for whom the public officer, in any manner or capacity, has secured or obtained, or will secure or obtain, any Government permit or license, in consideration for the help given or to be given.â€
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