Ombudsman dismisses ex-TRC chief Cunanan, 4 others over ‘pork’ scam

Ombudsman Conchita Carpio Morales has ordered the dismissal from government service of former Technology Resource Center (TRC) director general Dennis Cunanan and four other officials in connection with the alleged misuse of pork barrel funds amounting to P101 million.

Also covered by the Ombudsman order were Chief Accountant Marivic Jover, Budget Officer IV Consuelo Lilian Espiritu, Sales and Promotion Officer V Belina Concepcion and Internal Auditor V Maurine Dimaranan.

The five TRC officials are perpetually disqualified from holding public office and taking the civil service exam in addition to dismissal from service. Their retirement benefits are also forfeited.

Cunanan, a state witness on the pork barrel scam, had testified in court that Senators Jinggoy Estrada, Ramon Bong Revilla Jr. and Juan Ponce Enrile picked non-government organizations linked to businesswoman Janet Lim Napoles to be the recipients of their respective Priority Development Assistance Fund (PDAF), or pork barrel, allocations.

In three separate decisions, the Ombudsman found Cunanan and the four other TRC executives guilty of grave misconduct serious dishonesty and conduct prejudicial to the best interest of the service for facilitating, processing and approving the illegal disbursements of the PDAF allocations of former Reps. Alvin Sandoval of Malabon and Navotas, Anthony Miranda of Isabela, and Constantino Jaraula of Cagayan de Oro City.

Sandoval, Miranda and Jaraula are facing separate charges related to the alleged pork barrel scam before the Sandiganbayan anti-graft court.

The Ombudsman’s investigation showed that the release of the three former lawmakers’ PDAF allocations was marred by several irregularities.

Among the questionable actions investigators discovered were the lack of public bidding in the procurement of projects, and the lack of due diligence and audit in checking the track record and financial capability of the selected non-government organizations tapped for the projects.

Investigators likewise noted the acceptance of fabricated liquidation reports, list of recipients or beneficiaries, inspection reports, progress reports and other PDAF-related documents.

Sandoval is facing multiple graft and malversation charges over the alleged misuse of his P30-million PDAF allocation from 2007 to 2009. The funds were released to TRC as the implementing agency and channeled to the following foundations: Dr. Rodolfo A. Ignacio Sr. Foundation Inc. (DRAISFI), Pangkabuhayan Foundation Inc. (PFI) and Jacinto Castel Borja Foundation, Inc. (JCBFI) – NGOs expressly identified by Sandoval.

Jaraula, meanwhile, is facing three counts of malversation, three counts of violation of Section 3(e) of R.A. No. 3019 and three counts of direct bribery in connection with the questionable utilization of his PDAF amounting to P50.5 million from 2004 to 2007. The Commission on Audit discovered that the technical and financial assistance projects indicated by the lawmaker were never implemented in his district.

Miranda is facing graft and malversation charges for supposedly channeling P20.06 million of his PDAF allocation in 2007 to an NGO he established.

The dismissal of TRC executives follows the dismissal last April of five officials from the Department of Agriculture allowing the implementation of anomalous agricultural projects using the pork barrel of Estrada. —Xianne Arcangel/KBK, GMA News