Sandiganbayan: Ex-Iloilo state college president guilty of graft

The Sandiganbayan has found a former state college president guilty of four counts of graft for allowing his sons to become student laborers and get paid even without working for it. In a 37-page decision, the Sandiganbayan Fifth Division ruled that Dr. Elpidio Locsin Jr., former president of the Iloilo State College of Fisheries (ISCOF) in Barotac Nuevo, violated Section 3 (e) of the Republic Act 3019 or the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act. Locsin was sentenced to be imprisoned between six years and one month to 10 years, and disqualified from holding pubic office for each count of graft and corruption. Locsin, who served as ISCOF president from 1998 to 2005, was also required to return the salaries paid to his children, Neil Arvin, Gelner Keats, and Elpidio III. The anti-graft court found it "unacceptable" for Locsin to allow his children to apply for the school's Student Labor Program – created under RA 7323 or the Special Program for Employment of Students (SPES) – intended for students from poor families with annual earnings of 36,000 or below. "The three slots could and should have been availed of by students more in need of the salaries to be derived therefrom," the court said. After being accepted in the student assistance program, Locsin's three sons were assigned on various dates in the Office of the College President and the Integrated Fish Farm. In a complaint against Locsin, the prosecution led by Deputy Special Prosecutor John Turalba said Locsin’s family income bracket did not qualify for the program. The prosecution also argued there were witnesses who claimed to have seen Locsin's two sons Neil Arvin and Elpidio III playing basketball and biking around the campus at the time that they were supposed to be working. In his defense, Locsin denied that his children had not been rendering work for the labor program. He also said he enrolled his children not in the SPES but in another student assistance program called the Regular Student Labor Services in the College. In its 37-page decision, the anti-graft court gave weight to the evidence presented by the prosecution, and said Locsin gave his children "unwarranted benefit and preference over deserving students." The Sandiganbayan also said paying salary to Locsin's children caused "undue injury to the government." — LBG/RSJ, GMANews.TV