5 DA execs dismissed over pork barrel scam
The Office of the Ombudsman ordered yesterday the dismissal from government service of five officials of the Department of Agriculture (DA) for alleged involvement in the pork barrel scam.
Ombudsman Conchita Carpio-Morales said DA Regional Field Unit (RFU-VI) executive director Larry Nacionales, accountant III Candelaria Martinez, officer-in-charge Mira Talabong, accounting section chief Mae Nones and monitoring staff Roger Salcedo were found guilty of gross misconduct.
The DA central office said the five agriculture officials in Region VI who were ordered dismissed by the ombudsman filed a motion for reconsideration last week.
“Whatever the decision of the ombudsman on this matter, we will respect it,” DA spokesman Emerson Palad said yesterday.
The administrative case against the DA officials stemmed from the allegedly anomalous implementation of agricultural projects in the 4th district of
Negros Occidental funded by the Priority Development Assistance Fund (PDAF) of Sen. Jinggoy Estrada.
Ombudsman probers found that sometime in 2007, an undated project proposal was allegedly prepared and approved by Estrada, who is on trial for plunder also in connection with the pork barrel scam, for the “Diversified Farm Assistance for Negros Occidental AgriProducers” project that had a total budget of P20.5 million.
In a letter issued in December 2007, Estrada supposedly requested Nacionales to implement the agricultural projects with JCB Foundation the non-government organization project implementor.
The agricultural project involved the acquisition of 28 units of hand tractors, 28 units of rice threshers, 56 units of power sprayers and 5,000 bottles of Nobac Urban Organic Enzyme and Microbial Decomposition Activator including freight, shipment and delivery costs.
Based on a Special Audit Report of the Commission on Audit (COA), several audit observations were uncovered, such as nondelivery of farm inputs and farm implements, falsified certifications for the equipment, simulated bidding, equipment and products were grossly overpriced by as much as 74.5 percent or equivalent to P14.2 million; freight, shipping, trucking and delivery expenses
(NGO) totaling P1,018,000 were without factual and legal basis; and the actual recipients of the liquid fertilizers could not be determined because the master list bearing the signatures of farmers did not indicate the quantity received by them.
It was also discovered that the supplier for the agricultural equipment and JCB Foundation allegedly had the same business address.
Ombudsman Morales said “there is gross inexcusable negligence when they merely signed the Certifications, Accomplishment Reports and DVs as well as record the transactions in the books of DA RFU VI when they very well know they should have conducted periodic monitoring and evaluation on the project as well as verified and checked the documents submitted by JCB.”
Under the law, a public officer is guilty of gross misconduct if it is proved that he committed transgression of some established and definite rule of action, more particularly unlawful behavior or gross negligence.
Morales also imposed upon Nacionales and the other respondents the accessory penalties of cancellation of eligibility, perpetual disqualification from holding public office, forfeiture of retirement benefits and bar from taking civil service examinations.
Meanwhile, the complaint against Agricultural Program Coordinating Officer Roy Tio was ordered dismissed in view of his death prior to the filing of the administrative complaint.