Ex-Palawan town mayor fined for violating IPRA

MANILA, Philippines - The Sandiganbayan has ordered a former town mayor in Palawan to pay a fine of P100,000 or face imprisonment after finding him guilty of violating the Indigenous People’s Rights Act of 1997 (IPRA).

In a 25-page ruling, the anti-graft court’s First Division said former Balabac mayor Shuaib Astami will go to jail if he will not be able to pay the fine.

The Sandiganbayan said the evidence presented by the prosecution during the trial sufficiently established that Astami entered into a marine lease contract with Ecofarm System and Resources Inc. in February 2000.

Records show that the municipal waters and marine area were leased to the firm for 25 years for the cultivation, breeding and development of bivalve oysters and other similar aquatic produce suitable for pearl culture and for other related uses.

The lease, however, was made without securing a prior certification from the National Commission on Indigenous People (NCIP) that the area affected does not overlap with any ancestral domain.

In its ruling, the Sandiganbayan said the prosecution was able to establish that the contract was forged even if there was a pending application for a Certification of Ancestral Domain Title for the areas covered by the deal.          

“Non-compliance with the provision of Section 59 of the IPRA which is penalized under Section 72 thereof is malum prohibitum (wrong due to being prohibited), and hence, the fact alone that the accused (Astami) violated the law warrants his conviction,” the decision read.