Sandigan clears ex-Quezon solon, aide

The Sandiganbayan has acquitted former Quezon Rep. Proceso J. Alcala and his former chief of staff Claron R. Alcantara of criminal charges in the alleged misuse of Alcala’s ₱6.05-million Priority Development Assistance Fund (PDAF).

Despite his acquittal, however, the anti-graft court ordered Alcala to pay a civil liability of ₱6.05 million "for his negligence in the strict and improper implementation of the project funded by his PDAF."

The case against the former executive director of the Economic and Social Cooperation for Local Development Foundation Inc. (ECOSOC),

Roberto M. Solon, has been ordered archived since he remained at large.

On the other hand, the case against former Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) Assistant Secretary Mateo G. Montano had been dismissed in light of his death.

They were charged with violation of Section 3(e) of Republic Act No. 3019, the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act, and two counts of Article 217 of the Revised Penal Code on malversation of public funds.

From March to June 2007, the accused reportedly gave unwarranted benefits to the non-government organization ECOSOC by selecting it as a project partner in the implementation of Alcala's PDAF-funded project amounting to ₱6.05 million.

However, the prosecution said that the project turned out to be fictitious as the intended beneficiaries did not receive financial assistance from ECOSOC.

The anti-graft court said in its ruling that Alcala's act of requesting the release of his PDAF allocation as well as his endorsement of ECOSOC to DSWD in 2007 were in line with the prevailing practice and custom for the identification of PDAF-funded projects at that time.

Alcala's involvement in signing several documents and endorsing ECOSOC cannot be considered as manifest partiality, evident bad faith, or gross inexcusable negligence, the court said.

"He was merely performing acts required for the release of the funds and other 'informal practices,' which were later declared by the Supreme Court as unconstitutional, but nonetheless are considered valid by virtue of the doctrine of operative fact," the decision said.

While it might be true that the project was fictitious or non-existent, the court said that there was no showing that before the release of the final tranche of his PDAF by the DSWD to ECOSOC, accused Alcala had knowledge that ECOSOC did not actually implement the project.

"This failure to discern early on about the non-implementation of his PDAF-funded project, to the mind of the court, may not be considered as manifest partiality or evident bad faith," it stressed.

Sandiganbayan’s First Division Chairperson Efren N. de La Cruz wrote the 89-page decision with the concurrence of Associate Justices Geraldine Faith A. Econg and Arthur O. Malabaguio.