PNoy adviser Neric Acosta, mom appeal graft conviction

Laguna Lake Development Authority (LLDA) general manager Nereus Acosta and his mother, former Manolo Fortich mayor Socorro Acosta, have asked the Sandiganbayan to reverse its ruling convicting them of graft.

In a 31-page joint motion for reconsideration, Acosta and his mother maintained that there was nothing irregular with the allocation of P5.5-million worth of his Priority Development Assistance Fund (PDAF) or pork barrel to the non-government organization Bukidnon Vegetable Producers Cooperative (BVPC) in 2002 during his term as Bukidnon representative.

"The judgement of the Honorable Court is based on misapprehension of facts and an incorrect application of the Local Government Code to the allocation and release of the P5.5 million Priority Development Assistance Fund (PDAF) of accused Nereus to BVPC," the motion read.

In its ruling promulgated on March 28, the Fourth Division found the younger Acosta, who is also the presidential adviser on environmental concerns, guilty of graft for allegedly giving undue preference and advantage to BVPC as the beneficiary of his PDAF given that his mother was its director and cooperator.

The Fourth Division, meanwhile, hold the Acosta matriarch guilty of graft for her sole approval of the release to BVPC of her son’s PDAF, which was initially coursed through Manolo Fortich municipality as a financial assistance fund.

The court pointed out that under Section 36 of the Local Government Code (LGC), a local government unit may release assistance fund to an NGO upon the concurrence of the local council concerned.

The Acostas were sentenced to a minimum of six years to a maximum of 10 years imprisonment and were ordered perpetually disqualified from holding public office.

In their motion for reconsideration, however, the Acostas maintained that Section 36 of LGC must not be applied in their case as the fund released to BVPC came from discretionary fund of a congressman and not from the own fund of an LGU.

“That the P5.5 million PDAF was coursed through the LGU of Manolo Fortich did not convert it into a local fund, over which the LGU, through its Sangguniang Bayan, may exercise discretion as to who its beneficiary may be,” the motion read.

The younger Acosta further maintained that his P5.5 million PDAF was disbursed to Manalo Fortich as a trust fund and not as assistance fund with explicit stamp in the disbursement voucher that it is for “financial assistance to the Bukidnon Vegetable Producers Cooperative (BVPC).”

The former lawmaker said he only coursed his PDAF to Manalo Fortich as the BVPC was based in that municipality.

“In the case at bar, (a) the P5.5 million financial assistance came from accused Nereus’ PDAF, and not from the municipality of Manolo Fortich (b) the aid was intended for BVPC, a cooperative, and NGO composed of farmers and women of Manolo Fortich, (c) accused Nereus was not a local chief executive but a Congressman of the First District of Bukidnon, and (d) over which there is no sanggunian (council),” the motion read.

Further, the younger Acosta said the prosecution also failed to prove that he gave undue preference and benefit to BVPC as there is no evidence showing that his mother still has pecuniary and financial interest with the NGO when his PDAF was allocated to it in July 2002.

“To reiterate, the prosecution failed to show beyond any cavil of doubt that accused Socorro possessed any interest in BVPC when the P5.5 million PDAF was granted and spent by BVPC to justify the conclusion that accused Nereus deliberately appropriated his congressional funds to benefit his mother directly as the chairman, director or officer of the cooperative,” the joint motion read.

The Acosta matriarch pointed out that the fact that she was an orginal cooperator and one of the founders of the BVPC does not mean that she still has financial and pecuniary interest with the NGO.

On the contrary, Mrs. Acosta said she ceased to become the chairman, director or incorporator of BVPC when she became the mayor of Manolo Fortich in 2001 as the by-laws of the cooperative automatically disqualifies a member who is holding public office from holding position in the cooperative.

“There was no basis to pierce the corporate veil, as there was no evidence that the cooperative was being used for fraud, or functioned as a corporate shell or alter ego for the Acosta family,” the joint motion read. —KBK, GMA News