MANILA, Philippines — For diverting construction materials for his personal use, Mayor Rogelio Pimentel of Tago, Surigao del Sur may spend up to 14 years in prison.
In a 20-page decision released yesterday, the Sandiganbayan’s Fourth Division said Pimentel and his co-accused, former barangay chairman Herminigildo Reyes, were sentenced to six to eight years for graft and two to six years for malversation.
The two were also perpetually disqualified from holding public office and ordered to pay a fine of P121,366.80 each, representing the value of the construction materials that they malversed.
The cases stemmed from the transfer of 286 sacks of cement and 280 pieces of 10-millimeter steel bars to Pimentel’s resort in Socorro, Surigao del Norte in January 2014.
The Surigao del Sur provincial government donated the construction materials to Unaban Farmers Association for the construction of a solar dryer pavement.
“Reyes acquiesced to Pimentel’s request to transfer the... construction materials from the multi-purpose hall of (Barangay) Unaban... without obtaining the permission of the provincial government,” the court ruling read.
The fourth division found no merit on Reyes and Pimentel’s defense that the construction materials were transferred so they would not be damaged and rendered not usable by the flood caused by Typhoon Agaton.
Pimentel’s purchase of 280 bags of cement and 286 units of 10-millimiter steel bars as replacement would not exculpate him and Reyes of criminal liability, the court said.
“The full restitution of the amount malversed or as in this case the property malversed will not in any way exonerate an accused... Payment or restitution is not one of the elements of extinction of criminal liability,” it said.