Graft court defers Marquez arraignment

The Sandiganbayan deferred anew yesterday the scheduled arraignment of outgoing Parañaque Mayor Joey Marquez in connection with graft charges filed against him for the alleged overpriced acquisition of ammunition for his bodyguards.

Justices of the fourth division reset the arraignment to July 28 after Marquez’s lawyers Noel Malaya and Prospero Crescini filed a motion to quash the charges.

Government prosecutors accused the mayor, who recently lost in the city’s congressional polls, of irregularities since the ammunition purchased in 1996 and 1997 cost only P1.9 million, but that was acquired at P3.2 million. Ombudsman Simeon Marcelo said the local chief executive and general services officer Ofelia Caunan should be held criminally liable for the offense, following a Commission on Audit ruling that the acquisition did not pass through the required public bidding.

Investigators from the Office of the Special Prosecutor upheld the COA findings, through auditor Fatima Bermudez, that the ammunition purchased was done without bidding, and that its supplier was not an authorized dealer.

"As responsible public officer, it is incumbent upon them that public funds should be managed with utmost care and diligence so that it will not be wasted to the damage of the government," graft prober Emily Reyes stated in the 26-page resolution she wrote.

Marquez’s other graft cases include his failure to reimburse book suppliers Lizabeth Carreon over the P6.4-million books she delivered in the city’s schools. A separate case involving the P1.3 million overprice of brooms sticks is also pending.