Sandiganbayan clears ex-postmaster general

The Sandiganbayan has cleared former Postmaster General Hector Villanueva and his former chief executive staff of graft over the appointment of an ex-Palace official as a consultant for the Philippine Postal Corp. (PhilPost). In a 42-page decision on Nov. 25, the Sandiganbayan’s Fourth Division said state prosecutors failed to prove the guilt of Villanueva and former PhilPost chief executive staff Juliana Dimalanta since there was “insufficiency” in the evidence presented against them. Villanueva and Dimalanta were charged in 2016 by the Office of the Ombudsman. Also charged was former assistant executive secretary for legal affairs Antonio Corrado, whom Villanueva designated as a “management consultant” for PhilPost from 2007 to 2010. According to the Ombudsman, Corrado’s appointment to PhilPost allowed him to receive an honoraria amounting to P25,000 per month or a total of P1.05 million, on top of his salary at the Office of the President. The Ombudsman said this was in violation of the Constitution. But the court said there was no sufficient evidence to prove that Corrado’s appointment caused undue injury to the government.