Ex-Rizal Gov. Ynares seeks reinvestigation of fertilizer scam case

Former Rizal Governor Casimiro Ynares Jr. has sought the reinvestigation of his fertilizer fund scam case at the Sandiganbayan after the Court of Appeals (CA) found nothing illegal with his purchase of liquid fertilizers in 2004.

Ynares filed his motion at the Third Division, citing the September 2016 decision of the CA as a potential new evidence for the dropping of his graft charges.

"If these evidence and admissions were submitted during the preliminary investigation and considered in the resolutions of finding probable cause, in all probability, the Office of the Ombudsman could have ruled that there was no probable cause to indict the accused," Ynares said.

Ynares and former assistant department head Romulo Arcilla Jr. allegedly entered into a contract with Feshan Philippines in November 2004 for the supply of 1,266 bottles of organic fertilizers for the province at a price of P1,500 each without the conduct of a public bidding.

Moreover, the prosecutors said the organic fertilizer was still purchased even as there is another foliar fertilizer brand available with a lower price of P176 per bottle. This resulted in a total overprice of P1.67 million.

The same incident occurred in March 2005, the prosecutors said, when the respondents brought 1,189 bottles of organic fertilizer from the same supplier at P1,500 each.

This, even as there is another available brand of foliar fertilizer priced at only P187 per bottle, resulting again in a total overprice of P1.56 million.

But Ynares said the CA ruling can be considered as newly discovered evidence since this was not part of the investigations of the Ombudsman.

The CA decision stated the absence of a public bidding for the purchase of Bio Nature fertilizers is justified because only Feshan Philippines met the requirements mentioned in the purchase request of the local government.

"The complaint against him and all other petitioners is bereft of any allegation sufficient to overturn the presumption of good faith in the performance of official duties," the CA said.

"The evidence is also nil to support a conclusion that the opportunity to get the most advantageous deal for the government was blocked by the petitioners when they resorted to direct contracting. It beats to emphasize that lack of public bidding alone does not result in a manifest and gross disadvatange to the government," it added.

Ynares also filed a motion for leave of court, which is needed to be approved first before a reinvestigation is launched. —LDF, GMA News