Ex-mayor in Palawan convicted of graft over ghost project

MANILA, Philippines – More than a decade since his approval of a ghost road pavement project, a former town mayor in Palawan now faces a prison term of 6 to 10 years for graft. 

The Sandiganbayan found former San Vicente Mayor Alejandro Villapando guilty of violating the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Pratices Act, according to an 18-page decision penned by Sandiganbayan Justice Alexander Gesmundo.

In a statement Wednesday, June 11, the Office of the Ombudsman said Villapando’s conviction permanently disqualifies him from public office.

The anti-graft court convicted Villapando for approving the purchase of 1,500 bags of cement for concreting a road in Sitio Panindigan in San Vicente, Palawan. The January 2000 project was dubbed “Toursite Panindigan Road.” 

While the San Vicente municipal government paid P247,500 to Apollo Trading, none of the purchased bags of cement were delivered. The road remained unpaved.

As civil liability, the former chief executive of San Vicente was also ordered to return the amount the government paid to Apollo Trading for the ghost project.  

Evidential basis

Used as evidence by the Ombudsman in securing Villapando’s conviction were certificates of purchase and of acceptance for the purchased cement.

The certificates were signed by Villapando and co-accused San Vicente treasurer Rodrigo Cipriano Sr.

Reported to have passed away, the charges against Cipriano were provisionally dismissed pending the submission of a death certificate issued by the National Statistics Office.

A Commission on Audit (COA) special audit report – which found that the bags of cement were never delivered and the road for which they were intended did not exist – was also presented by the prosecution. Barangay (village) officials also attested to this. 

“The foregoing pieces of evidence indubitably show that the roads in Sitio Panindigan remained unpaved which would lead to the logical conclusion that the project for the concreting of Toursite Paninidigan Road was not executed and that the payment of P247,500.00 made by the municipality ostensibly for the delivery of 1,500 bags of cement to be used for such project was unjustified,” the Sandiganbayan decision read.

Villapando violated Section 3(e) of Republic Act 3019, which punishes a public officer who acted with manifest partiality, evident bad faith, or inexcusable negligence, causing undue injury to any party, including the government, in the discharge of his official functions. – Rappler.com