Sandigan suspends 2 fire bureau officials

Two officials of the Bureau of Fire Protection (BFP), including its chief, have been suspended for three months by the Sandiganbayan yesterday following graft charges filed against them by state prosecutors.

The anti-graft court’s fourth division, headed by Justice Gregory Ong, ordered the preventive suspension of BFP chief Francisco Senot and the head of the bureau’s finance service division, Florante Cruz, so they could not tamper evidence and harass potential witnesses.

"The reason behind this is that preventive suspension is not a penalty because it is not imposed as a result of judicial proceedings. If acquitted, the official shall be entitled to reinstatement and to the salaries which he failed to receive during suspension," the court said in a nine-page resolution.

Senot and Cruz were ordered to "cease and desist from performing their functions and duties" while the Department of the Interior and Local Government, which oversees the bureau, carries out the sanction.

Justices Ong, Jose Hernandez and Roland Jurado granted the request of the prosecutors to suspend the officials pending litigation since the "requisites for a valid suspension" have been "satisfied."

Government prosecutors, through Ombudsman Simeon Marcelo, earlier filed charges of graft and estafa against Senot and Cruz for allegedly entering into questionable transactions, including procurement of office equipment and supplies that were not delivered.

Among those undelivered were P3.5 million worth of office supplies, including administrative forms and hardbound folders worth P640,000 and P490,000, respectively.

What became the basis for the indictments was the fact that BFP supply officer Aniceto Herrera "could not produce any evidence, aside from his bare assertion that indeed those items were actually delivered to him."

Senot and Cruz argued that the Office of the Ombudsman should have not based its findings on the absence of documents supporting the delivery of the items, saying probers "quickly jumped into the conclusion that the accused are liable as charged."

"Suffice it so say that there had been no credible evidence presented to sufficiently show that there were no deliveries of items procured through the issuances of valid requisition orders," they contended, adding they had "clearly established that the items were indeed delivered and accepted by the BFP."

Various international agencies have expressed concern about massive corruption in the Philippines, which analysts say has discouraged foreign investors.

Independent estimates suggest at least a fifth of the government budget is lost through graft.

One local watchdog group, Procurement Watch Inc., estimated that the Philippines loses P21 billion a year to corruption in the procurement of government goods and services alone.

In 2003, the Arroyo administration launched an anti-corruption campaign that included "lifestyle checks" on government officials.

Corruption is one of the main causes of the government’s chronic budget deficit, which analysts warn could deteriorate into a fiscal crisis and derail President Arroyo’s anti-poverty agenda.

The World Bank recently granted a $300,000 loan to help clean up the Philippine government, perceived by business to be among the most corrupt in Asia. The loan was intended to strengthen the internal audit units of government agencies that vet state purchases.

International business perception surveys tag the Philippines as among the most corrupt places to do business in Asia.