Sandiganbayan finds 2 ex-DPWH execs guilty over P5.3-M right of way claims

The Sandiganbayan has found two former Department of Public and Highways (DPWH) officials guilty of two counts of graft and nine counts of falsification of public documents over P5.3 million right-of-way (ROW) payment claims.

In a 77-page decision, the anti-graft court said former DPWH Region 12 officials David Padlan and Tomas Rodriguez falsified public documents in 2011 to 2015 to justify the payment of ROW claims to Wilfredo and Alicia Leabris, as well as certain Muhammad Saptula.

It said Wilfredo and Alicia were not the legitimate owners of the land covered by the combined P5.3 million ROW payout.

“In these cases, it was proven that the funds released by the DPWH officials were not applied to the purchase of the lots affected by the Cotabato-Surallah National Road project. It was proven that the titles subject of the claims were not owned by Wilfredo nor Alicia Leabris,” the Sandiganbayan said.

Padlan and Rodriguez were sentenced to six to 10 years in jail on top of perpetual disqualification from public office for each of their two graft case convictions.

Padlan was convicted of four counts of falsification of public documents and sentenced to six months to eight years for each count. For the civil liability, Padlan was fined P5,000 for each count of his falsification conviction or P20,000 in total.

Rodriguez, on the other hand, was sentenced to spend six months to eight years in jail for each the nine counts of falsification of public documents that he was found guilty of.

The anti-graft court also fined Rodriguez P5,000 for each count of his falsification conviction for a total of P45,000.

The convictions of Padlan and Rodriguez in the falsification charges also carried a penalty of perpetual disqualification from public office.

The anti-graft court also ruled that Padlan and Rodriguez failed to observe the mandatory procedures set  under DPWH Special Order No. 80 series of 2007 which provides that the Infrastructure ROW (IROW) Committee, which Padlan and Rodriguez are part of, “bears the primary and non-delegable duty to ensure compliance with prescribed procedures in the evaluation and approval of right-of-way claims.”

Padlan and Rodriguez argued that they only acted upon the recommendations of a Technical Working Group (TWG), but the Sandiganbayan junked this defense by saying that the creation of the TWG does not change the mandate of the IROW Committee as stated under DPWH Special Order No. 80.

“The creation of the TWG was intended only to provide technical assistance and recommendations and it did not divest the IROW Committee, nor its members, of their responsibility to exercise independent judgment and to ensure that all mandatory validation and verification requirements were strictly observed,” the anti-graft court said.

“The approval of an IROW Committee Resolution triggers the processing and approval of payment for IROW claims and constitutes part of the documentary basis for funding requests submitted to the DBM (Department of Budget and Management). In light of these express and clearly defined duties, the failure of the IROW Committee to verify the authenticity, ownership, and validity of the supporting documents, particularly the transfer certificates of title upon which the claims were founded, constitutes evident bad faith and gross and inexcusable negligence,” it added.

As the body primarily charged with the review, validation, and approval of IROW claims, anti-graft court said the IROW Committee cannot evade responsibility by the mere expediency of relying on documents submitted by claimants.

“Their approval of a resolution despite patent defects and falsities in the supporting records reflects a reckless disregard of established safeguards specifically designed to prevent the unlawful disbursement of public fund. Saptula and Alicia Leabris were able to receive government funds that were never used for the acquisition of the property allegedly intended for the road project,” it said.

“Government funds were wrongfully disbursed to parties not entitled thereto, in the amounts of P2,953,643.12 and P2,934,137.53 for the two properties due to the accused IROW Committee members' blatant disregard for the DPWH Rules on governing IROW claims,” the Sandiganbayan added.

The court, however, cleared DPWH Region 12 official Paisal Padate in two counts of graft charges concerning the same ROW payments for failure of the prosecution to prove their guilt beyond reasonable doubt.

In addition, the Sandiganbayan also dismissed nine other falsification of public documents cases against Padlan and Padate involving the same ROW payments also for failure of the prosecution to prove their guilt beyond reasonable doubt.

Rodriguez, for his part, was cleared by the court in another four counts of falsification of public documents charges.

As a result, the corresponding Hold Departure Orders against the accused in the cases where they were acquitted were cancelled.

Likewise, the corresponding bail bonds with respect to acquitted cases were ordered released by the court subject to usual accounting and auditing procedures.—AOL, GMA News