Ex-Development Bank of the Philippines chief faces probe over P310,665

MANILA, Philippines - The Office of the Ombudsman is investigating a former chairman of the Development Bank of the Philippines (DBP) for alleged swindling and an official of the Toll Regulatory Board (TRB) for perjury.

The Field Investigation Office filed charges against them before the Preliminary Investigation and Administrative Adjudication and Monitoring Office (PAMO) yesterday.

Director Caesar Asuncion of the Ombudsman’s Assets Investigation Bureau (AIB) said Vitaliano Nañagas II, former chairman of the DBP and former president of the Philippine Deposit Insurance Co. (PDIC), is being investigated for claiming irregular reimbursements amounting to P310,665.73.

The Ombudsman said Eunic M. Losantas, chief administrative officer of the TRB, is also facing graft charges before the PAMO for his failure to truthfully declare his assets, liabilities and net worth in 2007.

Asuncion said Nañagas allegedly spent the money for his personal expenses on his official travels to New York and Washington in the United States from May 15, 2001 to June 14, 2001.

He said Nañagas’ summary of expenses and receipt reveals how he attended to so-called “personal matters” during the trip and visited several stores, restaurants, museums, and specialty shops.

He also allegedly made unnecessary and extravagant reimbursements for expenses incurred by his unidentified representative in DBP meetings in the Philippines amounting to P66,374.28, on top of the expenses he actually or personally incurred while he was abroad.

The FIO accused Nañagas of Violation of Section 3 (i) of Republic Act 3019 or the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act and swindling as defined by Article 315 Paragraph 2(a) of the Revised Penal Code (RPC).

According to the charge sheet, the law prohibits government officials from “directly or indirectly becoming interested, for personal gain, or having a material interest in any transaction or act requiring the approval of a board, panel or group which he is a member, and which exercises discretion in such approval, even if he votes against the same or does not participate in the action of the board, committee, panel or group.”

“Interest for personal gain shall be presumed against those public officers responsible for the approval of manifestly unlawful, inequitable, or irregular transactions or acts by the board, panel, or group to which they belong,” the anti-graft law states.

Swindling carries a penalty of six to 20 years in prison while Violation of RA 3019 is punishable with six to 15 years in prison along with permanent disqualification from public office and confiscation or forfeiture of unexplained wealth.

Meanwhile, the Ombudsman said Losantas is under investigation for alleged perjury as defined by Article 183 of the RPC; Section 8 of RA 3019 in relation to Sec. 11 of RA 6713 or the Code of Conduct and Ethical Standards for Public Officials and Employees; RA 1379 or the Act Declaring Forfeiture of Ill-Gotten Wealth of Public Officers and Employees; and Section 22 of the Omnibus Rules Implementing Book V of Executive Order 292 for Dishonesty, Grave Misconduct, and Conduct Prejudicial to the Best Interest of the Service.

The anti-graft investigators said Losantas was first employed with the Kilusang Kabuhayan at Kaunlaran, a government-owned and controlled corporation attached with the Department of Agriculture, from 1983 to 1998 before he was appointed to his present post on Feb. 1, 2005.

Noting that his wife and two children have no record of income tax returns from 1996 to 2007, investigators said the TRB official, whose annual income from the same two-year period amounted only to P1,138,998, was charged for failing to declare properties amounting to P18,936,047.07 in his 2007 Statement of Assets, Liabilities and Net Worth (SALN). 

Investigation revealed that the undeclared properties include a house and lot in Taytay, Rizal worth P1.5 million; a Mitsubishi Adventure worth P665,000; a capital investment in Euniline Computer Services and Trading, a business registered under the name of his wife amounting to P500,000; and cash worth P16,283,060.87.