Sandigan upholds sentence for Nabcor execs in ‘pork’ scam

MANILA, Philippines — The Sandiganbayan has upheld the conviction of three officials of abolished state firm National Agribusiness Corp. (NABCOR) in connection with the pork barrel scam.

In resolution promulgated on Jan. 31, the anti-graft court’s Special Second Division denied the joint motion for reconsideration of NABCOR vice president Rhodora Mendoza, accounting division officer-in-charge Maria Niñez Guañizo and paralegal Victor Roman Cacal seeking the reversal of its Oct. 20, 2023 decision finding them guilty of one count each of graft and malversation of public funds.

The Sandiganbayan said the arguments raised by the three NABCOR officers were a rehash of the arguments tackled in the decision.

Mendoza, Guañizo and Cacal were among those convicted with detained businesswoman Janet Lim-Napoles in connection with the misuse of P20.91 million in Priority Development Assistance Fund (PDAF) or pork barrel of former South Cotabato Second District representative Arthur Pingoy Jr.

They were sentenced to serve six to 10 years in prison for graft and 10 to 16 years for malversation.

They were also directed to individually or jointly indemnify the government a total of P2.91 million on top of another P2.91 million that they must jointly or individually pay in fines.

Filed by the Office of the Ombudsman in 2016, the cases stemmed from Pingoy’s allocation of P20.91 million worth of PDAF from 2007 to 2009 to two bogus non-government organizations (NGOs) owned by Napoles.

The court had earlier acquitted Pingoy for lack of evidence to prove that he received kickbacks from Napoles.

The court said the ombudsman’s prosecution panel proved Napoles and the NABCOR officers conspired to facilitate the release of Pingoy’s PDAF to the two bogus NGOs.

Napoles is detained at the Correctional Institution for Women following her conviction for plunder in 2018 in connection with the misuse of P517 million in PDAF of Sen. Ramon Revilla Jr.