Ex-Navy official gets 24 years in jail for graft over medicine procurement

The Sandiganbayan has convicted a retired officer of the Philippine Navy and four others of graft over the illegal procurement of medicines in 1991.

The anti-graft court's First Division sentenced retired Vice Admiral Mariano Dumancas Jr. to 24 years in prison after finding him guilty of four counts of graft.

One of his co-accused, Commander Rosendo Roque, the Navy's former procurement officer, was likewise sentenced to serve the same jail sentence.

However, the two were acquitted on six other graft charges due to insufficiency of evidence to prove the medical supplies were overpriced.

Commander Ramon Renales, the Philippine Navy's former price monitoring officer, was convicted of three counts and was meted out an 18-year jail term.

Commodore Francisco Tolin, former deputy commandant of the Philippine Coast Guard, and Commander Manuel Ruason, former Philippine Navy assistant chief of staff for logistics, received a six-year jail term for one count of graft.

The cases against the former Navy officials stemmed from a special audit of the Philippine Navy's transactions in 1991 and 1992.

Results of the special audit showed the accused set aside the requirement for public bidding for medicines amounting to P2.3 million by resorting to emergency procurement.

State auditors found the supposed emergency was inexistent because the medicines--mostly over the counter drugs such as paracetamol, amoxicillin and multivitamins-- were kept only for stock.

The auditing team also found that the former Navy officers violated the rule in emergency procurement requiring the canvass of at least three suppliers.

"Based on the totality of evidence, the Court finds and so holds that the accused gave unwarranted benefits, advantage or preference to Jerso Marketing, PMS Commercial, Gebtruder Marketing, Dofra Pharmaceuticals and Roddensers Pharmaceuticals," the Sandiganbayan said.

The court said the Navy officers' decision to do away with canvassing rules was proof that the five suppliers were given unwarranted benefits.

The Sandiganbayan gave no weight to Dumacas' defense of good faith in relying on the recommendations of his subordinates.

"Dumancas cannot hide behind the mantle of good faith among his subordinates. The circumstances surrounding the transactions warranted that he inquire into the propriety of an emergency purchase instead of the general rule which is public bidding, and check whether or not the supporting documents justified it," the court said.

Two other former Navy officers accused of graft, Captains Walter Briones and Alfredo Penola, remain at large together with defendants Ramon Vito and Connie Tagle, who represented the supplier of medicines.

The Supreme Court dismissed the graft cases filed against Commodore Lamberto Torres regarding the transaction in 2016 after he filed a petition for certiorari on the ground of violations of due process and his right to the speedy disposition of cases.

Meanwhile, the cases against Ben Edulag, a private individual, were dismissed because he is already dead. — RSJ, GMA News