Samar solon Mila Tan found guilty of graft over P16.1-M questioned purchases

The Sandiganbayan on Friday found Samar 2nd District Representative Milagrosa Tan guilty of eight counts of graft over the alleged anomalous purchase of P16.1 million worth of emergency supplies in 2001.

The anti-graft court's Fourth Division found Tan "guilty beyond reasonable doubt" of eight counts of violation of Section 3(e) of the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act.

The Sandiganbayan also perpetually disqualified Tan, who is running for governor anew in the May elections, from holding public office.

However, her candidacy remains valid pending the finality of the decision.

Two of her co-accused, Rolando Montejo and Reynaldo Yabut, were also found guilty. They were sentenced to suffer the same prison terms.

The Sandiganbayan acquitted Romeo Reales, Maximo Sison, and Numeriano Legaspi for the failure of the prosecution in proving their guilt.

The full decision penned by Associate Justice Bayani Jacinto has yet to be released to media. Only the dispositive portion was read during the promulgation.

The respective counsels of Tan, Montejo, and Yabut informed the Sandiganbayan that they would file a motion for reconsideration.

Division chairperson Associate Justice Alex Quiroz said it was the accused's right to file an appeal, but ordered them to post an additional bail bond of P240,000 to prevent the issuance of an arrest warrant.

"The Sandiganbayan would always require the accused to double the bond for them to enjoy provisional liberty," Quiroz said, directing the court sheriff to prohibit the accused from leaving the Sandiganbayan premises until the bond is posted.

The cases against then-governor Tan and her co-accused were filed in 2006 based on the complaint of Fr. Noel Labendia, the parish priest of the Diocese of Calbayog and founding leader of Isog Han Samar Movement, an anti-corruption group in the province.

Labendia claimed the officials were in cahoots in approving anomalous purchases of P16.1 million worth of supposed "emergency supplies" without any public bidding.

Graft investigators found that the purchases included rice and medical supplies earmarked for victims of typhoon "Kidang" which hit the province in 2001 but some of the requests for supplies turned out to have been made before the typhoon. —NB, GMA news