MANILA, Philippines – Inabswelto ng Sandiganbayan Third Division si dating Zamboanga del Sur Governor Aurora Cerilles sa graft dahil sa pagbili ng medical equipment noong 2007.
Si Cerilles ay nakasuhan dahil sa pagbili nito ng isang unit ng Siemens Somatom Spirit CT Scan machine para sa Zamboanga del Sur Provincial Hospital.
Ang dating gobernador ay inakusahan ‘to have willfully, unlawfully and criminally give unwarranted benefits and advantage’ sa supplier na United Medical Systems Corporation.
Sa desisyon noong Agosto 30, inabswelto ng anti-graft court si Cerilles dahil sa bigong mapatunayan ng prosekusyon ang lahat ng mga elemento ng graft na nasa kanyang mga aksyon.
Nang binili ang makina ay ginawa ito sa pamamagitan ng direct contracting sa halip na public bidding, isang requirement sa Republic Act No. 9184 o Government Procurement Reform Act.
Sinabi ng Sandiganbayan na walang kwestyon na ang procurement ay nagpatuloy nang walang public bidding.
Ngunit sinabi na ang paglabag sa Procurement Act ay hindi agad-agad nangangahulugan ng korapsyon.
“The Supreme Court ruled that even if the irregularities in the bidding were true and proved beyond reasonable doubt, the same does not automatically result in finding the act of the accused as culpable under R. A. No. 3019,” saad sa desisyon.
“The absence of a public bidding may mean that the government was not able to secure the lowest bargain in its favor and may open the door to graft and corruption. However, this does not satisfy the third element of the offense charged, because the law requires that the disadvantage must be manifest and gross. With the foregoing guidelines, this Court finds no criminal liability on the part of accused Cerilles as regards the procurement of the subject CT Scan machine without public bidding,” dagdag pa.
Kinwestyon din ng prosekusyon kung bakit pinayagan umano ni Cerilles ang installment payment para sa pagbili sa kabila ng paglalabas ng Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office (PCSO) ng grant na nagkakahalaga ng P27 milyon.
Sa kabila nito, sinabi ng Sandiganbayan na ang criminal liability ay hindi lamang nakaasa sa kanyang mga pirma.
“The prosecution was unable to prove that the stamp signatures of accused Cerilles on the subject checks were indeed her authentic signatures. It likewise failed to present proof of any active and direct participation of accused Cerilles to unduly influence the payment of the subject CT Scan machine in installments or in favor UMSC,” ayon pa sa Sandiganbayan.
Sinabi ng Third Division na ang ikatlong elemento ng graft (action causing undue injury to any party, including government or gave any private party unwarranted benefits) ay hindi rin makikita sa kaso ni Cerilles.
“The prosecution insists that the absence of a public bidding, as well as an alleged overpayment amounting to more or less P2,524,642.86, as stated in the Information, was evidence enough to prove that undue injury was caused to the government. However, the prosecution failed to prove this,” pagpapatuloy pa.
“The subject CT Scan machine in question was successfully delivered to the Provincial Hospital of Zamboanga del Sur and was continuously utilized by its patients without any further notice of disallowance or any other notice from the COA citing irregularity. In fact, no document or any positive finding was presented to show that the procurement of the subject CT Scan machine was disallowed.”
Kinwestyon din ang halagang binayaran sa UMSC lalo na’t may overpayment na P29.5 milyon ang LGU kahit na ang offer at purchase price ay P27 milyon lamang.
Iginiit ni Cerilles na P25,524,642.86 lamang ang binayad nila sa UMSC, o mas mababa pa nga sa orihinal na halaga.
Nakita rin ito sa mga dokumento na nagpapakita ng mga aktwal na bayad na ginawa ng Provincial Government ng Zamboanga del Sur.
Ayon sa anti-graft court, bigong mapatunayan ng prosekusyon na si Cerilles ay may relasyon o matibay na ugnayan sa UMSC na nagpapakitang pinaboran niya ang mga ito.
Wala ring ebidensya na nagpapakita na balak ni Cerilles na mangurakot.
Ipinag-utos ng Third Division ang paglalabas ng bail bond na naunang ibinayad ni Cerilles.
Nanawagan din ito na bawiin ang Hold Departure Order na inisyu laban sa kanya. RNT/JGC
