GENERAL SANTOS CITY – The Sandiganbayan said it convicted Sarangani Provincial Board Member Marlind Marcelo and former Assistant Provincial Veterinarian Nicolas Sunio for conspiring in the misappropriation of funds amounting to P129,450.
In a 48-page Decision, the anti-graft court found Marcelo guilty of the complex crime of Malversation through Falsification of Public Documents, and Sunio guilty of Falsification of Public Document.
In 2003, the Office of the Ombudsman requested the Commission on Audit to conduct a special audit on the alleged anomalies in Sarangani on the release of financial assistance to various non-governmental organizations and people’s organizations.
Results of the special audit investigation disclosed that financial assistance rendered to various NGOs were fraudulent or illegal, and the projects were non-existent resulting to damage and loss to the government.
In convicting the accused, the Sandiganbayan said it determined that Marcelo and Sunio falsified disbursement vouchers and supporting documents by making it appear that financial assistance was requested by the Datal Bila Multi-Purpose Cooperative despite knowing that the cooperative was fictitious.
The COA audit team established that DBMPC had no certificate of accreditation from the Cooperative Development Authority and had also failed to submit its financial statements for the last three years. More importantly, no Memorandum of Agreement was executed between DBMPC and the provincial government of Sarangani.
Constantino’s former staff member and whistle-blower Mary Ann Gadian testified that “she was assigned a special task during employment in the office of Constantino which consisted of creating fictitious cooperatives and falsifying documents relating to cooperatives as a means to get provincial funds for their personal use.
Another former staff member and whistle-blower Sheryll Desiree Jane Tangan testified that she signed above the names of the representatives of DBMPC requesting financial assistance in the amount of P125,000.00 and that she signed the By-laws of DBMPC.
Marcelo was sentenced to suffer the penalty of reclusion perpetua and perpetual special disqualification, and was also directed to indemnify the Province of Sarangani in the amount of P129,450.
Insofar as Sunio is concerned, the anti-graft court sentenced him to suffer the indeterminate penalty of four years, two months and one day of prision correccional maximum as minimum, to ten years of prision mayor medium, as maximum penalty, and to pay the fine of P5,000.
The criminal case of co-accused former Sarangani Vice-Governor Felipe Constantino was ordered dismissed in view of his death. Co-accused ex-Provincial Accountant Maria Camanay remains at large, according to the Sandiganbayan.
20