Former Ilocos Norte mayor meted 8 years for graft

MANILA, Philippines - A former mayor of Bacarra town in Ilocos Norte was meted a sentence of six to eight years in jail after he was found guilty of graft by the Sandiganbayan. In a nine-page ruling dated December 10, the anti-graft court's Third Division sentenced former Bacarra mayor Pacifico Velasco guilty of graft for turning over a P3.33 million rice mill purchased by the municipal government in 1998 to the Bacarra Zanjera/Irrigators Multi-Purpose Cooperative. Aside from the jail term, the anti-graft court also banned Velasco from holding any public officie in the future. In the decision penned by Associate Justice Norberto Geraldez, the anti-graft court declared Velasco’s as illegal because he failed to secure the approval of the Sangguniang Bayan of Bacarra for the transfer. Likewise, the court noted that preference was given to Zanjera out of 32 cooperatives existing in the municipality. It noted that Velasco owned 520 shares in the said cooperative. In his testimony, Velasco also admitted that his son, Michael Velasco, was the manager of Zanjera at the time of the turnover. Velasco, however, claimed that his action did not require the permission of the municipal board as no cash was turned over to the farmers' cooperative. The court, however, overruled Velasco's argument citing Section 22 (c) Book 1 of the Local Government Code which barred local executives from binding the local government unit in any contract "without prior authoritzation from the Sanggunian concerned." “As local chief executive, accused Velasco ought to know the law and he was duty bound to obey the same. Accused Velasco failed to comply with the law, and, considering his position, was grossly and inexcusably negligent," the court said. - GMANews.TV