Sandiganbayan upholds guilty verdict vs. ex-NHA officials over Bacolod housing project

The Sandiganbayan upheld the guilty verdict against former officials of the National Housing Authority for allegedly bloating the price tag of a housing project in Bacolod City almost four times its original cost.

By a vote of 4-1, the anti-graft court's Second Division ruled to deny the motion for reconsideration of former NHA Management Office for Visayas head Josephine Casenas-Hottle also known as Josephine Angsico.

The same motions of former NHA-Visayas manager Virgilio Dacalos, former provincial director Felicisimo Lazarte Jr., former project management officer Josephine Espinosa and former supervising engineer Noel Lobrido were also junked.

"All the elements are present in the instant case. The prosecution's evidence has proved these allegations beyond reasonable doubt. The instant motions merely reiterated their defenses and these arguments have already been discussed in the assailed decision," the Sandiganbayan said.

The anti-graft court also said Angsico and her co-accused failed to raise new arguments that would warrant the reversal of its December 7, 2018 decision, noting the Supreme Court ruled it would be "a useless ritual for the court to reiterate itself."

The Sandiganbayan had convicted Angsico and her co-accused of graft and sentenced them to six to 10 years imprisonment.

The case stemmed from the Pahanocoy housing project in Bacolod City in 1992 that cost P330,075, but the Sandiganbayan said the accused NHA officials failed to justify why the final billing got bloated to P1.28 million.

The Sandiganbayan said not even a single witness was presented by the defense to refute the accusations against them.

“They (accused) all agreed to increase the final bill and payment to Triad Construction from P330,075.76 to P1,280,964.20. Unfortunately, they failed to provide a credible, logical and truthful explanation for the increase in the final billing,” it said in its December 7 decision. —KG, GMA News