‘Pork’ scam whistle-blower cleared of graft

Marina Sula, one of the whistle-blowers in the multibillion-peso pork barrel scam, has been cleared in a graft case in connection with her alleged involvement in the equally controversial P723-million fertilizer fund scam.

In an eight-page resolution promulgated yesterday, the Sandiganbayan Fifth Division granted Sula’s motion to dismiss her case, saying there was no justifiable reason for the Office of the Ombudsman to take almost 12 years to investigate the complaint before filing the case in court last year.

The cases against Sula’s three co-accused – former Palawan governor Joel Reyes, former Department of Agriculture regional technical director Rodolfo Guieb and former regional executive director Dennis Araullo – have been dismissed over the “inordinate delay,” the ruling penned by division chairman Associate Justice Rafael Lagos read.

Associate Justices Reynaldo Cruz and Maria Theresa Mendoza-Arcega concurred with the ruling.

The graft case stemmed from the alleged anomalous disbursement of P3.250 million worth of public funds to non-government organization Masaganang Ani Para sa Magsasaka Foundation (MAMFI) in 2004 for the purchase of liquid fertilizer.

The ombudsman said Reyes approved the release of the fund to MAMFI without the conduct of a public bidding and despite the NGO’s failure to complete its accreditation documents to qualify as a project implementer.

Sula served as the president of MAMFI, although she has been claiming that it was owned and controlled by the alleged pork scam mastermind Janet Lim-Napoles, who was never included in the fertilizer fund scam cases.