ISABELA, Philippines – The anti-graft court sentenced to prison two former officials of Alfonso Castañeda town in Nueva Vizcaya province over two anomalous projects in 1999.
In a January 26 ruling, the Sandiganbayan Third Division found former mayor Alfredo Castillo Jr guilty of graft and corruption and ordered him to serve at least 6 years in prison.
Castillo and his accomplice, former councilor Andres Camana, were also sentenced to up to two years of imprisonment for falsification of public documents.
The ruling, penned by Presiding Justice Amparo Cabotaje-Tang, means the former mayor will be behind bars for at least 8 years. He has also been barred from working in government for life.
Financial interest
The decision said that prosecutors from the Office of the Ombudsman established evidence that Castillo was indeed listed as an incorporator and stockholder of the company which won contracts for two town projects.
"It is undeniable that Castillo... awarded the contracts for the construction of a gymnasium and the Lublub-Dibilit Road to Lotus Designs where he was a registered incorporator and stockholder," the 60-page ruling said.
Castillo, aside from being the mayor, also served as member of the Pre-Qualification Bids and Awards Committee (PBAC), an internal body tasked to ensure that all projects undergo legal procedures.
The Sandiganbayan said he had "direct financial interest" in awarding the projects to the company he co-owned.
The anti-graft court added that the projects did not actually undergo public bidding.
"Documentary and testimonial evidence indubitably establish that no public biddings were actually conducted for the construction," the decision read.
The two projects cost the government around P4 million ($83,701), according to disbursements signed by Castillo.
Second jail term
This was not the first time the anti-graft court decided to jail Castillo.
In October 2013, the Sandiganbayan Second Division found the former mayor guilty of 3 counts of graft, sentencing him to up to 12 years of imprisonment.
Two of the 3 counts of graft stem from the same dubious projects that the Sandiganbayan Third Division had ruled on last month.
The 2013 ruling said Castillo paid for the projects even though these were not yet finished.
It said the gymnasium was only 68% complete, while the road project was only 70% finished.
Castillo failed to attend hearings set by the court.
The former mayor was also implicated in the killing of his then-vice mayor, Cezar Lacanilao, after the self-confessed gunman tagged him as the mastermind.
Lacanilao, before his killing, was a witness in the graft case over Castillo's anomalous gymnasium project. – Rappler.com
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