Sandiganbayan convicts ex-PhilForest officials, 2 others in PDAF scam

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Former PhilForest president Erwin Krishna Santos and former vice president Marijoyce Cornel are sentenced to 20 to 36 years in prison and barred from holding public office

MANILA, Philippines – The anti-graft court Sandiganbayan on Wednesday, July 15, convicted four individuals, including former Philippine Forest Corporation (PhilForest) executives, over the alleged misuse of Priority Development Assistance Fund (PDAF) allocations for non-existent agroforestry projects and the submission of fabricated liquidation documents.

Former PhilForest president Erwin Krishna Santos and former vice president Marijoyce Cornel were found guilty of one count each of violating the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act and three counts of malversation of public funds. They were sentenced to 20 to 36 years in prison and permanently barred from holding public office.

PhilForest finance department manager Albert Rasalan was sentenced to eight to 14 years in prison after being convicted of one count each of graft and malversation.

Queenie Rodriguez, project coordinator and officer of the private group Maharlikang Lipi Foundation Incorporated (MLFI), was also found guilty of graft and malversation and was handed a 16- to 24-year prison term because of the larger amount involved in the malversation charge.

The cases stemmed from the PDAF, or pork barrel, scam involving the alleged diversion of public funds intended for agricultural projects through questionable transfers and spurious supporting documents.

The Office of the Ombudsman, in a case filed in 2023, accused the PhilForest officials of embezzling the P4.6 million PDAF allocation of the late Oriental Mindoro representative Reynaldo Umali.

Prosecutors said the funds were released to PhilForest in 2011 before the government-owned or controlled corporation transferred the money to MLFI in three tranches: P3.5 million, P1 million, and P100,000.

They said MLFI should have been disqualified from receiving the funds because of its questionable existence and failure to meet the requirement of providing a 20% equity contribution to the project.

Documents submitted to the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) showed that Umali’s PDAF was intended to finance the Upland Agroforestry Development Program in his district.

A state audit found no evidence that the project had been implemented and instead uncovered bogus receipts, sales invoices, delivery receipts, and other liquidation documents.

During the trial, the supposed contractor-suppliers – JA Honrado Grassland Farm, Matabang Farm Supply, and SGE Publishing Incorporated – denied any transactions with MLFI, despite being listed as suppliers of seedlings, vermiculture compost, and information materials.

“Taken together, the evidence raises serious questions regarding the authenticity and reliability of the liquidation documents submitted by MLFI. The challenge to these documents is not founded solely on technical deficiencies or audit observations. Rather, it is supported by direct evidence from the persons and entities purportedly identified as suppliers,” the Sandiganbayan said.

The anti-graft court also noted that MLFI failed to comply with the 20% equity requirement, which required about P1 million worth of equipment, land, or other assets, as its financial statement reflected equity of only P67,200.

“These deficiencies directly negate the purpose of ensuring that public funds are entrusted only to NGO with demonstrated operational capacity and accountable presence in the beneficiary are,” the court stated. – Rappler.com