Sandiganbayan suspends Maguindanao mayor over P72-M school building project

The Sandiganbayan Sixth Division has ordered a 90-day suspension on Mayor Datu Sajid Islam Uy Ampatuan in connection with 145 cases of falsification of public documents, graft and malversation charges filed against him over a 2009 school building project worth P72 million.

Ampatuan is the mayor of Shariff Saydona Mustapha town in Maguindanao.

In a six-page decision, the anti-graft court body said that copy of the suspension order will be furnished to the Secretary of the Department of the Interior and Local Government for implementation.

“The suspension of accused Ampatuan shall automatically be lifted upon the expiration of the ninety-day period from the implementation of this Resolution,” the Sandiganbayan said.

Government prosecutors are alleging that Ampatuan and his co-accused caused undue injury to the government when they made it appear that P72 million worth of public funds had been used to purchase construction and lumber materials for the school building repair, which turned out to be non-existent.

State prosecutors are also accusing Ampatuan of falsifying the disbursement vouchers  to justify the use of public funds.

Ampatuan has denied this, saying that his signatures in the vouchers appeared to be a computer-generated template. —LDF, GMA News