Sandigan denies bail for ‘undead’ businesswoman in textbook scam

MANILA, Philippines — For faking her own death, assuming false identities and repeatedly fleeing from authorities, the anti-graft court Sandiganbayan maintained that businesswoman Mary Ann Tupa Maslog, who also goes by the name Jesica Sese Francisco, must remain in detention despite facing a bailable offense of graft in connection with the P24-million textbook scam in 1998.

In a minute resolution dated Dec. 19, 2024 but was released only yesterday, the court’s Second Division has upheld its Dec. 6 ruling denying Maslog’s motion to lift the bench warrant against her and instead be allowed to post bail for her case of violation of Section 3 (e) of Republic Act 3019 or the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act.

The Second Division said that while Maslog is facing a bailable offense, an accused’s right to bail “is not absolute.”

“While the right to bail is constitutionally guaranteed under Article III, Section 13 of the Constitution, it is not absolute... the accused-movant Mary Ann Maslog’s repeated acts of evasion, including jumping bail, using multiple aliases and fleeing abroad, demonstrate a blatant disregard for the judicial process and a high likelihood of flight if she resisted,” the Second Division’s resolution read.

Filed by the Office of the Ombudsman in 2008, the graft case stemmed from the Department of Education Culture and Sports (now Department of Education)’s release of payments totaling P24 million to Esteem Enterprises – represented by Maslog – in February 1998, for its supposed delivery of textbooks and other printed learning materials to DECS Region 8.

The ombudsman said the payment was released in two tranches using two falsified Sub-Allotment Release Orders supposedly issued by the Department of Budget and Management to make it appear that there were fund allocations for the purchase. The DBM denied allocating any budget for the project.

In its decision on Oct. 16, 2020, the Second Division found former DECS Region 8 (Eastern Visayas) chief accountant Emilia Aranas and chief budget and finance officer Ernesto Guiang guilty of the charged crime.

They were sentenced to six up to 10 years of imprisonment and were ordered perpetually disqualified from holding public office.

The Second Division, however, ordered the dismissal of the case against Maslog in light of her supposed death on Nov. 18, 2019.

Five years later, or on Sept. 24, 2024, the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) arrested a certain Dr. Jesica Sese Francisco in Quezon City over complaints of fraud, for allegedly scamming two investors for a supposed water supply system in the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao.

However, after a fingerprint match, it was found that Francisco and Maslog were one and the same person.

It was also discovered that Maslog used various other aliases.

While Maslog had posted bail for her fraud case, the NBI did not release her after the Sandiganbayan Second Division issued a bench arrest warrant for her graft case upon being alerted of the NBI findings.

In its new resolution, the Second Division pointed out that after being granted bail in 2017, Maslog failed to appear at subsequent court proceedings, “effectively abandoning her commitment to face the charges against her.”

Furthermore, the court noted that Maslog even used her own child to report that she passed away in 2019, “further illustrating her attempts to mislead authorities and evade prosecution.”

“Taken together, the totality of her actions – her history of absconding, failure to voluntarily appear before the Court and use of spurious identities – proves a high probability of flight. Her past conduct makes any assurance of her compliance with bail conditions wholly unreliable,” the Second Division said.