Former PADC execs face raps

MANILA, Philippines - Former officials of the Philippine Aerospace Development Corp. (PADC) are facing charges before the Sandiganbayan over unliquidated travel expenses eight years ago.

PADC is an attached agency of the Department of Transportation and Communications.

Roberto Navida and Antonio Suba, former PADC president and department manager, respectively, were charged for their failure to render accounts under Article 218 of the Revised Penal Code.

Investigators from the Office of the Ombudsman found out that the respondents attended the 4th International Aircraft Conversion and Maintenance Conference in Beijing from Oct. 10 to 14, 2006.

Navida and Suba made cash advances amounting to P241,478.68 for the trip. Despite repeated notices from the Commission on Audit (COA) to submit their travel documents, they failed to liquidate the cash advances.

The ombudsman said Section 16 of Executive Order 298 and COA Circular 96-004 require government officials to liquidate cash advances.

Graft probers junked the malversation charges against them for lack of probable cause.

Charges against other former PADC officials Richard Lazaro, Corazon Aguinaldo and Rolando Broas were likewise dismissed for lack of evidence.