Ex-Agusan del Sur mayor gets 20 years for graft

BUTUAN CITY, Philippines — A former mayor of Loreto town in Agusan del Sur has been sentenced to up to 20 years in prison for misappropriating P1.6 million in public funds.

Herminio Reyes was found guilty of violating Section 3 (e) of the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act, with a maximum prison term of 10 years, and malversation of public funds, which earned him another 10 years, according to a 28-page decision released recently by the Sandiganbayan’s Fourth Division and penned by Associate Justice Alex Quiroz.

Reyes’s co-accused, former councilors Virgilio Julao, Ma. Marley Daday, Leo Gomez, Arturo Estil, Joel Plaza and Romeo Magadan, were sentenced to a maximum of 10 years in prison.

The former officials were also perpetually barred from holding public office.

Their conviction stemmed from the transfer of money allotted for the construction of a municipal building to the bank account of Loreto Transport Services Association Inc. on March 10, 2003.

The private association in turn used the amount for a livelihood project through loans provided to local government employees.