2 ex-education execs get 10 years over textbook scam

MANILA, Philippines — Two former officials of the Department of Education, Culture and Sports (DECS), now the Department of Education, have been convicted of graft in connection with a textbook scam.

The Sandiganbayan’s Second Division said former DECS Eastern Visayas chief accountant Emilia Aranas and chief budget and finance officer Ernesto Guiang were sentenced to up to 10 years in prison and perpetually disqualified from holding public office.

The case against their co-accused, Mary Ann Maslog, representative of Esteem Enterprises, was ordered dismissed due to her death on Nov. 18, 2019.

The anti-graft court said the Office of the Ombudsman established that Aranas and Guiang gave “unwarranted benefit, advantage and preference” to Esteem Enterprises when they processed the payment of P24 million for the supposed delivery of textbooks and other printing materials despite lack of fund allocation.

The ombudsman said Aranas and Guiang used two falsified sub-allotment release orders (sub-AROs) to make it appear that the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) allocated funds for the purchase.

The court said three witnesses from the DBM denied affixing their signatures in the sub-AROs while concerned DECS employees testified that the two sub-AROs were not in their records.