Roderick Paulate posts P246,000 bail

Quezon City Councilor and actor Roderick Paulate posted bail at the Sandiganbayan on Friday to secure his provisional liberty in his graft and falsification cases for allegedly hiring 30 ghost employees in 2010.

Paulate posted a total bail bond of P246,000 hours after his case was raffled to the docket of the Seventh Division. His co-accused, driver and liaison officer Vicente Esquilon Bajamunde, paid a bond of P220,000.

Paulate earlier went to the Seventh Division but chairperson Associate Justice Ma. Theresa Dolores Gomez-Estoesta has yet to issue an approval of the bail as stated under Rule VI of the Revised Internal Rules of the Sandiganbayan.

Sought for comment, Paulate only replied "it's done."

The Office of the Ombudsman had charged Paulate and Bajamunde with one each count of violation of Section 3(e) of the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act and eight counts of falsification of public document.

Paulate also faces one count of falsification by a public officer.

The case stemmed when Paulate allegedly ordered his chief of staff to prepare questionable Personal Data Sheets and falsified job orders, which he all signed as the recommending authority.

Paulate also issued certifications stating that the 30 listed contractual employees worked for 40 hours per week and authorized Bajamunde to collect their salaries from July 1 to November 15, 2010 in the sum of P1.1 million.

The prosecution said the 30 personnel were supposedly hired after they attested that they have no relatives working in the city council, they have not been dismissed from the service, and they have not reached the mandatory retirement age of 65.

However, investigations revealed that Paulate and Bajamunde caused the "falsification of the signatures of the purported payees and collect the full amount of the falsely signed payroll."

The funds for the salaries of the ghost employees were allegedly released after Bajamunde affixed false signatures while Paulate's authorization letter was done without special powers of attorney from the supposed payees. — RSJ, GMA News