Ex-Agri chief cleared of graft raps
A former regional executive director of the Department of Agriculture could now walk free from graft charges stemming from an alleged misuse of fertilizer funds totaling P5.61 million in 2011 after prosecutors failed to prove his guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.
The Sandiganbayan Second Division ruled in a 43-page decision that the prosecution failed to prove the existence of corrupt intent, dishonest design, and unethical interest, paving the way for the court to acquit ex-A Regional Field Unit 4 executive Dennis Araullo of graft charges in connection with an alleged unliquidated amount of the fertilizer fund.
The case arose from a special audit conducted by state auditors on the P728 million Farm Inputs/ Farm Implements Program fund under the Ginintuang Masaganang Ani Program of the DA, in which Araullo was accused of favoring certain suppliers and recipients in the distribution of P5,613,636 from the said project.
This stemmed from Aurollo’s failure to consult beneficiaries and legitimate proponents of the Ginintuang Masaganang Ani Program, as required by the Agriculture and Fisheries Modernization Act, and Executive Order 338, s. 200, causing injury to the government in the amount of P5.6 million, which represented the unliquidated portion of the FIFIP given to the DA-Region IV.
They claimed that P5,613,636 was unliquidated at trial, but the Sandiganbayan found no evidence to support this claim.
The court, however, not only dismissed the graft acquisition charge against Araulo, but also ordered his hold departure and bond release.
Araullo, for his part, clarified that the amount was part of the P11.75 million that the D-RFU4 had already returned to the Bureau of Treasury due to unused funds.
“The accused, in his defense, explained that the unexpended amounts from the fund has been reverted to the General Fund of the Bureau of Treasury,” the court said.
“While the accused did not provide any documentary evidence to prove that the unexpected amounts were reverted to the BTr, the table on Distribution of Farm Inputs and Implements Fund Balances, adduced in evidence by both parties, showed that the balance between the amount released to DA Region IV and the amount granted to LGUs, NGOs or suppliers, have been reverted to the BTr,” it added.
According to the testimony of the regional accountant for DA Region 4A, the CoA never issued a notice of disallowance or an audit observation memorandum concerning the FIFIP funds.
Concerning the claim that Araulo showed unfair favoritism to suppliers and NGOs, Sandiganbayan pointed out that Araulo had nothing to do with accrediting NGOs. Instead, the DA Undersecretary for Field Operations’s office picked the LGU proponents before the funds were sent to DA Region 4.
“The prosecution failed to prove beyond reasonable doubt that there was in fact loss, misuse, misappropriation or embezzlement in the amount of P5,613,636, more or less, to the government’s detriment,” the decision promulgated on 13 January read.
According to the testimony of the regional accountant for DA Region 4A, the CoA never issued a notice of disallowance or an audit observation memorandum concerning the FIFIP funds.