More raps filed vs ex-Maguindanao gov Datu Sajid Ampatuan

MANILA, Philippines — Former Maguindanao governor Datu Sajid Ampatuan is facing more charges before the Sandiganbayan for alleged misuse of public funds.

The Office of the Ombudsman yesterday said it has found probable cause to file charges against Ampatuan for allegedly misappropriating P500 million intended for road projects.

The ombudsman said former provincial treasurer Osmeña Bandila, provincial accountant John Estelito Dollosa and Danny Calib of the Commission on Audit (COA) should be included in the charge sheets for violation of Section 3 (e) of Republic Act 3019 or the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act as well as malversation of public funds and failure to render accounts under Articles 217 and 218, respectively, of the Revised Penal Code.

Graft probers said the provincial government entered into agreements with the Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR) in 2009 for the construction and rehabilitation of farm-to-market roads.

Despite repeated demands from the DAR to account for the funds, the ombudsman said the respondents failed to submit any supporting documents such as liquidation reports, list of beneficiaries and certificates of acceptance of services or of the finished projects.

The agency gave weight to COA’s findings that the projects were not implemented even though the accused issued a certificate stating that the provincial government disbursed a total of P499.999 million from June to September 2009.

The COA findings are “sufficient proof to engender a well-founded belief that public funds were misappropriated for ... Ampatuan, Bandila, Dollosa and Calib’s own private use or benefit,” the ombudsman said.

Ampatuan had been earlier charged with 272 criminal cases before the Sandiganbayan in connection with alleged anomalous contracts totaling P150 million for various infrastructure projects and procurement of food supplies.