Sandigan affirms conviction of ex-Kalinga mayor, wife

MANILA, Philippines — The Sandiganbayan has upheld the conviction of former Tabuk, Kalinga mayor Camilo Lammawin Jr. and his wife Salud for extorting money from a construction firm in 2002.

In a resolution promulgated on Sept. 11 and released yesterday, the anti-graft court’s seventh division said the couple failed to raise any meritorious argument to reconsider its ruling that found them guilty of two counts each of graft and direct bribery.

“A defense anchored on bare allegations purportedly corroborated by inadmissible evidence can never overcome competent evidence of the prosecution, especially when the facts... are admitted by the accused himself,” the court ruling read.

In its July 19 decision, the seventh division sentenced the Lammawin couple to up to 34 years in prison. They were also ordered to pay a fine of P1.5 million.

 The Office of the Ombudsman said the couple demanded and received a total of P520,000 from Rodman Construction and Development Corp. (RCDC) in exchange for the release of checks representing the municipal government’s payment for a previous project.

“As admitted by the defense, the spouses... received from Mrs. (Susana) Rodriguez (then RCDC treasurer) by way of bank-to-bank transfer... P400,000 on July 10, 2002 and P120,000 on Oct. 18, 2002. On said dates, the... checks were released by the municipality of Tabuk to Mrs. Rodriguez to fund the project,” the court said.

“The receipt by the spouses of the said amount influenced the release of the.. checks... spouses failed to prove otherwise,” it added.

The seventh division found no merit on the couple’s defense that the amount they received was payment for a loan extended to RCDC to augment its operational expenses.

“There is also no proof that the... amount it transmitted was used by RCDC to partly cover the cost of the project,” the court said. 

“If indeed said loan was contracted by RCDC due to financial difficulties and benevolently extended by the spouses... why then would Rodman Construction be made to pay the amount... when they were experiencing said financial woes? The court fails to see the logic behind this setup,” the Sandiganbayan said.