Sandiganbayan clears JV Ejercito of graft in firearms purchase deal

The Sandiganbayan has cleared Senator Joseph Victor Ejercito of graft over the purchase of P2.1-million worth of firearms when he was mayor of San Juan City in 2008.

In a 45-page ruling, the court's Fifth Division granted the demurrer to evidence filed by Ejercito, saying there was no proof he caused undue injury to the government over the deal or gave unwarranted benefit to HK Tactical Defense System, Inc (HKTDSI), the supplier of firearms.

The Sandiganbayan has lifted the suspension order it issued on the senator on as a result of his acquittal in the case.

Ejercito was charged with graft by the Office of the Ombudsman last March for allegedly using San Juan City’s calamity fund to buy the firearms even though the city was not under a state of calamity.

State prosecutors said the purchase of the high powered rifles, including three units of model K2 cal. 5.56mm sub-machine guns and 17 units of Daewoo model K1 cal. 5.56 mm sub-machine guns, was also done in haste without competitive bidding and examining the qualifications of HKTDSI.

In clearing Ejercito of graft, the Fifth Division set aside the allegation regarding the use of calamity funds for the purchase, citing his pending trial before the Sixth Division for technical malversation over the deal.

The court instead focused on the accusation he gave unwarranted benefit to HKTDSI by choosing the DAEWOO brand of firearms for the purchase.

The Sandiganbayan said Ejercito and the other members of the bids and awards committee could not have given any advantage to HKTDSI because it was not the exclusive distributor of DAEWOO guns and there is no evidence that they manipulated the elimination of other DAEWOO suppliers.

It added that the prosecution failed to present proof that the senator “pressured or influenced” his co-accused BAC members to pre-select the DAEWOO branded firearms since he merely “noted” the Invitation to Apply for Eligibility and to Bid (IAEB) for the purchase but did not approve it.

The court said HKTDSI’s advanced knowledge on the results of the bidding “should not and cannot be traced to all the accused, simply because they are not the only people involved in the preparation of documents.”

“More importantly, the fact alone that HKTDSI was the only bidder should not evoke wonder or speculation about the result of the bidding,” the Sandiganbayan said.

The court said the P2.1 million paid for the purchase was also within well the allocated budget of P2.120 million for the guns, so no undue injury could have been caused by Ejercito and his co-accused to the government.

Aside from Ejercito, also acquitted by the Sandiganbayan were: city administrator Ranulfo Dacalos, city legal officer Romualdo Delos Santos, former City Documentation and Compliance Office special assistant Lorenza Ching, former city treasurer Rosalinda Marasigan and former city engineer Danilo Mercado. — RSJ, GMA News