By Ben R. Rosario
The Sandiganbayan has sentenced to maximum ten years imprisonment a former provincial director of the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority and his wife after finding them guilty of graft.
In a 16-page decision penned by Associate Justice Geraldine Faith A. Econg, the First Division meted out the prison terms on Edwin Villanueva, former TESDA director in Aklan, and his wife Nida, after convicting them for violation of Section 3 (d) of the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act. Associate Justices Efren N. de la Cruz and Edcgardo M. Caldona concurred.
The Sandiganbayan also imposed an accessory penalty of perpetual disqualification from holding public office on the couple.
The couple has been accused of giving undue fiscal advantage of TESDA when Nida was employed as in-house competency assessor of Rayborn-Agzam Center that was in a business transaction with TESDA in Aklan in September 2010.
