Ex-Sorsogon governor gets 40 years for graft over fertilizer scam

MANILA, Philippines — Former Sorsogon governor Raul Lee was sentenced to a maximum of 40 years of imprisonment after the Sandiganbayan found him guilty of four counts of graft over his involvement in the 2004 fertilizer fund scam.

In a 33-page decision promulgated on Friday, the Sandiganbayan First Division found Lee guilty of two counts of violation of Section 3 (e) of Republic Act 3019 or the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act and another two counts of violation of Section 3 (g) of the same law.

He was sentenced to a minimum of six years and one month to a maximum of 10 years of imprisonment for each count of the offense or a total of 24 years and four months to 40 years.

Lee was also ordered to pay the provincial government a fine of P2.591 million.

Section 3 (e) of RA 3019 prohibits public officials from giving unwarranted benefit, advantage or preference to a private party or from causing any party, including the government, undue injury.

Meanwhile, Section 3 (g) of RA 3019 prohibits public officials from entering into a contract or transactions grossly disadvantageous to the government.

Convicted with Lee was former provincial accountant Raul Hernandez but he had reportedly died before the decision was rendered. The First Division, however, was still awaiting a formal notice from Hernandez' lawyer regarding his death.

Meanwhile, the court dismissed the charges against another respondent, provincial treasurer Ofelia Velasco, due to insufficient evidence.

Filed by the Office of the Ombudsman in 2011, the cases stemmed from the provincial government's procurement of 2,133 liters of Bio Nature Liquid Fertilizer amounting P3.199 million.

Based on the information of the case, the fertilizer was purchased from Feshan Philippines Inc. in two batches in May and June 2004, without holding a public bidding required under RA 3019 or the Government Procurement Reform Act.

Instead, the respondents resorted to direct contracting without a recommendation from the provincial Bids and Awards Committee and amid Feshan's lack of exclusive distributorship certificate.

The ombudsman further said the respondents resorted to a specific brand name of fertilizer “despite the existence of suitable market substitutes” available at cheaper prices.

The ombudsman said the procured fertilizer from Feshan was overpriced by P2.815 million.

“The records will bear out that the Province of Sorsogon's resort to direct contracting...was upon the initiative of accused Lee. The procurement commenced upon accused Lee's request to purchase specifically Bio Nature Fertilizer in two batches,” the decision penned by division chairman Associate Justice Efren De La Cruz read.

“It was all accused's Lee's hand from the procurement to the payment of the subject fertilizers,” it added.

Associate Justices Geraldine Faith Econg and Bernelito Fernandez concurred with the decision.

Meanwhile, the court said Hernandez' liability lies with his certification that the supporting documents for the transactions were complete and proper. The court said this certification aided Lee for the release of payments to Feshan.

The court, on the other hand said, Velasco cannot be deemed liable for certifying that there was an available cash for fertilizer procurement “because, indeed, there was an available allocation for the expense.”

The First Division's ruling came amid the series of dismissal of fertilizer fund scam cases due to the supposed inordinate delay in the ombudsman's investigation.

Among the fertilizer fund scam cases recently junked due to “inordinate delay” were those against Masbate governor Antonio Kho, former Antique governor Salvacion Perez, former Parañaque Rep. Eduardo Zialcita, former Cebu Representatives Antonio Cuenco and Antonio Yapha Jr., former Palawan Representatives and incumbent Games and Amusement Board chairman Abraham Kahlil Mitra and former Senator Lito Lapid.

The purchase of fertilizers by the several local government units in 2004 was part of the supposed implementation of the Department of Agriculture's Farm Inputs and Farm Implements Program (FIFIP).

The DA's FIFIP, which was later dubbed by the media as the fertilizer fund scam, was originally aimed at extending assistance to poor farmers in the countrysides. Instead, P723-million worth of funds from the program was reportedly used as campaign kitty for the 2004 president bid of Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo.

The ombudsman, however, had earlier cleared Arroyo of any involvement in the scam.

The Sandiganbayan last year dismissed the plunder case against the primary accused in the scam, former DA undersecretary Jocelyn “Joc-Joc” Bolante, citing the insufficiency of evidence of the ombudsman.