Corona prosecutor faces graft, malversation before Sandiganbayan

The Office of the Ombudsman on Thursday ordered the filing of graft (two counts) and malversation charges against former Iloilo (5th Dist.) Rep. Niel Tupas Jr. before the Sandiganbayan over the alleged misuse of his

14.8 million Priority Development Assistance Fund (PDAF) in 2008.

Similarly charged were Alan Javellana, Rhodora Mendoza, Romulo Relevo, Ma. Julie Villaralvo-Johnson – all from the National Agri-Business Corporation (Nabcor) and Marilou Antonio, project coordinator of the Kabuhayan at Kalusugang Alay sa Masa Foundation, Inc. (KKAMFI).

Documents show that on May 15, 2008, Tupas wrote the Department of Agriculture (DA) to transfer 15 million of his PDAF to Nabcor for the purchase of hand tractors, water pumps and grafted fruit seedlings from KKAMFI, the project implementer.

But Ombudsman field investigators discovered that the farm implements were never delivered to six recipient municipalities – Ajuy, Batad, Estancia, Lemery, San Rafael and Sara. All six local governments units denied receiving anything.

Ombudsman investigators also discovered that the liquidation documents submitted by Tupas and his co-accused were all fabricated. Tupas himself signed the fake list of beneficiaries of equipment and seedlings from his district.

Conspired

In a resolution, Ombudsman Conchita Carpio-Morales said “to be able to repeatedly release substantial funds from the PDAF, access thereto must be made available, and this was made possible by Tupas Jr. who directly chose and endorsed his own NGO to implement his PDAF-related projects. Tupas Jr. himself issued the requisite endorsement letters and similar documentation addressed to the DA and Nabcor, acts which were necessary to ensure that the chosen NGO would be awarded the project.”

“The evident misuse of the PDAF allocations through fictitious or non-existent projects should render respondents liable for malversation,” Morales added. “This Office is convinced that they conspired with one another in this nefarious scheme to misappropriate public funds drawn from Tupas Jr.’s PDAF.”

In a statement, Tupas, a Liberal Party stalwart said he was “very surprised” by the Ombudsman’s resolution, since he was very careful in informing the Commission on Audit (COA) and other concerned government agencies about the spurious documents that contained his signature.

“I was the one who alerted COA and I asked the government agency concerned to withhold the release of funds (some of the funds were in fact returned to the national treasury as a result of my letter complaint),” he said. “I also wrote the Ombudsman informing the office of our discovery of spurious documents that were used to facilitate the release of funds. I will ask my lawyers to file a motion for reconsideration (MR) and I hope the Ombudsman will see the light.”

Tupas led a team of prosecutors in the impeachment case of the late Supreme Court Chief Justice Renato Corona in the Senate over entries in his Statement of Assets, Liabilities and Net worth.