Retired general cleared of graft

MANILA, Philippines - A former military general and his co-accused have been acquitted of graft over the construction of school buildings in 2002.

In an 81-page resolution dated Jan. 25 and released on Wednesday, the Sandiganbayan Fifth Division said state prosecutors failed to prove the guilt of retired Brig. Gen. Cesar Gopilan, former head of the engineering unit of the Armed Forces of the Philippines.

Private contractors Elmer Aytona of Edibok Construction and General Merchandise and Jorge Javier of J. Javier Construction Trading were also cleared of the charges.

“After…scrutinizing the respective evidence of the prosecution and the accused, the court is convinced that the prosecution failed to discharge its burden of proving the guilt of the accused beyond reasonable doubt,” the ruling penned by Associate Justice Rafael Lagos read.

Associate Justices Roland Jurado and Maria Theresa Mendoza-Arcega concurred with the ruling.

The graft case stemmed from the construction of 36 school buildings worth P9 million from May to July 2002.

In filing the case, the Office of the Ombudsman said Gopilan allowed Edibok and J. Javier to construct the school buildings, without public bidding and formal contracts.

However, the anti-graft court said the prosecution was only able to present documents showing that Aytona and Javier supplied some materials for the project.

“The construction of the buildings by the accused…is a key element that must be proven by the prosecution…Without proof that the accused …constructed the school buildings, there would be no factual basis to convict them under the information of this case,” the ruling read.

The court added that allegations of poor workmanship, construction defects and failure to finish the project have become irrelevant.