Ex-mayor in Bulacan gets 12 years for graft

The Sandiganbayan has sentenced former San Miguel, Bulacan, mayor Edmundo Buencamino for a
minimum of 12 years imprisonment after he was found guilty of graft for unauthorized collection of fee.

In a 27-page ruling, the court said Buencamino “imposed and collected payment for pass way fee knowing fully well that he is without authority of law, decree, ordinance or resolution to do so.”

The anti-graft court imposed the penalty of a minimum of six years to a maximum of eight years of imprisonment for each count of graft. Since it found Buencamino guilty of two counts of graft, he can be imprisoned for a minimum of 12 years and a maximum of 16 years.

Aside from imprisonment, Buencamino was also perpetually disqualified from holding public office.

Based on the complaint filed by the Office of the Ombudsman, Buencamino, through former barangay captain Robert Tabernero, started collecting P1,000  from mining operators as so-called “pass way fee” in 2004 for each truck traversing San Miguel town.

The Ombudsman said the collection was made despite the absence of any ordinance or resolution approved by the City Council and “without completely remitting the proceeds to the local treasury.”

The court found weight on the prosecution's allegation and said that Buencamino's “act of imposing tax on a subject that is outside of the legal authority of a municipality as provided under the Local Government Code of 1991,” has caused “undue injury” to the government.

“It was made without any legal basis but upon his whims and caprices,” the court said. —Elizabeth Marcelo/KBK, GMA News