FORMER Capas Mayor Hermes Frias of Tarlac and three others have been found guilty of two counts of graft by the Sandiganbayan First Division, and have been sentenced to a maximum of 20 years imprisonment.
Frias, together with former Municipal Administrative Officer Gener Taruc, former Municipal Accountant Rolando Domingo, and former Municipal Budget Officer Nick Ayuyao, were earlier charged with three counts of graft as well as one count each of falsification and malversation.
This was for the purchase of several items from different suppliers even though the latter were not licensed and authorized to do business by the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI).
For the first two graft charges, Frias and his co-accused purchased items worth R241,146.05 from S&E Enterprises and R456,635.43 from Gem Trading sometime between October 1996 to June 1997.
For the next graft charge, they approved the payment of R18,915 for the purchase of electronic calculators from Samie Sicat on March 22, 1997, even though there were no pertinent documents to support the purchase and delivery of the item.
Frias and the others were charged with falsification and malversation due to the falsified official receipts of 716 Enterprise owned by Roberto Rebosa between April 25 to June 20, 1997.
They reportedly made it appear that 42 pails of chlorbocide were purchased even though none was really made, so the amount R711,320.40 was liquidated from the government.
The defense tried to argue that Gem Trading was already operating in other localities such as Quezon City, Cagayan, and Batangas. But the court found this reasoning “untenable.”
“Common sense also dictates that it is highly incredulous that the municipality went canvassing from as far as the said provinces just to procure rice and mango seedlings,” the court ruled. (Czarina Nicole Ong)
