MANILA, Philippines — Late former Polangui, Albay mayor Jesus Salceda Sr. would have been pronounced guilty in 2004 fertilizer fund scam, but he met his demise before he was convicted.
In a resolution dated December 7 as posted on the website of Sandiganbayan, the anti-graft court's First Division ruled to defer the promulgation of its decision to February 2.
The division, instead, directed the Office of the Ombudsman's prosecution team to confirm Salceda's death with the Philippine Statistics Authority.
The court was supposed to hand out a guilty verdict to Salceda on December 7 but his lawyer Jose Conrado Sabio manifested that the former mayor has passed away on November 19.
Salceda, 87, died of various illnesses and complications.
'Extinguished'
Salceda's demise, in effect, spares him of conviction for two counts of graft filed by the ombudsman in 2013 in accordance with the Revised Penal Code.
Under Article 89 of the RPC, the accused's criminal liability is "totally extinguished" if he dies before the court promulgates its final judgement on the case.
The First Division, meanwhile, retains its guilty verdict on Salceda's co-accused, former municipal accountant Ma. Jimalyn Sabater for violation of Section 3 (e) and 3 (g) of Republic Act 3019 or the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act.
Another accused former municipal treasurer Anna Robrigado, on the other hand, was acquitted due to insufficiency of evidence presented against her.
The dispositive portion of the court's 33-page decision dated December 7, revealed that both Salceda and Sabater were found guilty of the graft cases and were sentenced to 12 up to 20 years of imprisonment. They were also ordered to pay the Polangui government a total of P4.819 million, representing the amount of municipal fund they supposedly misused.
The decision was penned by Associate Justice Edgardo Caldona with the concurrence of Associate Justices Efren De La Cruz and Geraldine Faith Econg.
Overpriced fertilizer
The cases stemmed from Polangui government's purchase of 1,315 liters of Young Magic Foliar Fertilizer from Madarca Trading in April 2004 amounting P5 million supposedly through direct contracting instead of a public bidding required under RA 9184 or the Government Procurement Reform Act.
The fertilizer, bought during Salceda's term as mayor, was also found to be overpriced by P4.819 million or 2,940 percent or as it was sold at P3,800 per bottle when the product's then prevailing market price was only P125 per bottle.
The First Division, said Salceda "cannot pass the buck" to his co-accused as the facts of the case show "that he has all along been at the helm of the whole process of procurement of the subject fertilizer," a transaction, which, the court ruled, was "grossly and manifestly disadvantageous to the government."
Rep. Joey Salceda (Albay) listens to arguments at the hearing on the extension of the declaration of martial law in Mindanao in December 2017. Salceda's father, Jesus, passed away weeks earlier. Salceda staff
As for Sabater, the court said she conspired with Salceda for the procurement to push through by certifying on the completeness of the required supporting documents despite the absence of a recommendation from the municipality's Bids and Awards Committee to do away with public bidding and instead resort to direct contracting.
Salceda is the father of Rep. Joey Salceda (Albay, 2nd district), provincial board member Jesus "Jesap" Salceda Jr. and doctor Anne Marie Salceda-Mella.