DAVAO CITY – For spending government funds over a ghost project for the fisherfolk in Sarangani province, the Sandiganbayan has sentenced a former governor Miguel Escobar and his co-accused Alexis dela Cruz , 20 years imprisonment.
In a 43-page decision handed down Associate Justice Kevin Vivero, the anti-graft court also ordered Escobar and management analyst dela Cruz to pay a PHP5,000 fine and PHP450,000 in civil liability.
The cases stemmed from financial assistance for fisherfolk project in the province in 2002 which turned out a ghost project using falsified documents.
“Accused’s Escobar’s silence or inaction despite the knowledge of the anomalous transaction by other officials of the province was tantamount to his approval. Moreover, his conduct of approving the disbursement voucher despite the lack of supporting documents which resulted in the encashment of P450,000 by the person who posed as accused Banzon speaks most eloquently of his participation in the conspiracy,” the court said.
Sandiganbayan found Escobar liable when he approved the fictitious request for financial assistance and for certifying that the fictitious expense was necessary even as “neither was there a request for financial assistance nor was there financial assistance received” by the Malapatan Fishermen’s Group of Poblacion in Malapatan, Sarangani.
The group was among the groups and cooperatives identified by the Ombudsman in 2004 as having been used to funnel government funds for ghost projects in the province.
The court also ordered the issuance of alias warrants of arrest against other accused in the case who remain at large — Amelia Zoleta, Suzette Clerigo and private individual Velsie Banzon.
