Former municipal treasurer charged with graft arrested

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BY RUBY P. SILUBRICO
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Wednesday, October 18, 2017
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ILOILO – A former municipal treasurer of Sara town accused of graft was arrested yesterday at her house in Barangay Apelo.

Edna Pacrim, 63, was taken to the Sara police station around 9:30 a.m.

She was charged at the Sandiganbayan with 46 counts of violation of section 3 (e) of Republic Act 3019 (Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act) and 46 counts of malversation of public funds through falsification of public documents under Article 217 of the Revised Penal Code in relation to Article 171.

Associate Justice Rodolfo Ponferrada, chairperson of the anti-graft court’s 6th Division, issued the arrest warrant. He also set Pacrim’s bail bond at P5 million.

Pacrim was one of eight municipal officials and employees of Sara (including former mayor Neptali Salcedo) accused of graft by then 5th District congressman Niel Tupas Jr. in 2011. The others were municipal engineer Roel Salcedo, municipal budget officer Gregorio Golingay, municipal planning and development coordinator and Bids and Awards Committee (BAC) chairman Calixto Oliveros, municipal general services chief Marcelino Abellar, executive assistant and BAC member Marilou Balasabas, and statistical aide and BAC secretariat head Elizabeth Tan.

Tupas, then the chairperson of the House justice committee, cited audit findings that contracts and purchase orders totaling P1,249,050 were questionably awarded to Porquez Farm and General Merchant even though the company was not a bona fide supplier.

Based on the findings of the Ombudsman, according to Tupas, the corresponding disbursement vouchers for payments made to the firm were not supported by the required documents, and the vouchers lacked several of the required signatures.

Oliveros, Pacrim, Engineer Salcedo, Golingay, Abellar, Balasabas, and Tan were found by the Ombudsman liable for inefficiency and incompetence in performing their official duties, and were each meted nine-month suspension without pay and benefits.

Ex-Sara mayor Neptali Salcedo, Pacrim and Engineer Salcedo were also indicted by the Ombudsman over a P200-thousand payment for the construction of a farm-to-market road from Barangay Domingo to Barangay Muyco, Sara and another P100,000 for another farm-to-market road from Sitio Kapinayan, Barangay Domingo to Sitio Sincua, Barangay Lemery.

Tupas claimed, however, that the project merely entailed the repair of an existing road and not the construction of a new one, which meant that for the Kapinayan-Sincua project the town paid an overprice of P48,256 because such a project would only cost P51,744.

Based on a Commission on Audit (COA) report, the town also paid an excess of P96,512 for the Domingo-Muyco project that was valued at only P103,488.

For the third graft complaint, Salcedo, Pacrim, Engineer Salcedo, accountant Edgar Beatingo, and a private individual identified as Luis Ybiernas were charged for the payment of P1 million to the Sara Caltex station for fuel and lubricant used in several road repair and expansion projects.

COA auditors found an excess payment of P153,721 because the actual cost of fuel consumed was only P846,279 for 10 different projects, according to Tupas.

In the fourth case, Salcedo, Pacrim and the municipal engineer were accused of 30 counts of malversation of public funds through alleged falsification of public documents over the release of P1,834,400 for the labor payroll./PN
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