In observance of the Holy Week, the Philippine News Agency’s online news service will be off on March 29, Good Friday, and March 30, Black Saturday. Normal operations will resume on March 31, Easter Sunday.

— The Editors

Ex-DavOr exec, 5 'ghost employees' face jail term for graft raps

By Perfecto Raymundo, Jr.

December 6, 2018, 2:31 pm

MANILA -- The Sandiganbayan sentenced a former provincial board member of Davao Oriental to a maximum jail term of 58 years for allowing hiring of "ghost employees" in the provincial government from July 2001 to March 2003.

Aside from former Davao Oriental Board member Maria Consuelo Toroba Palma Gil- Roflo, the anti-graft court's Special Third Division also sentenced five former job order employees Jerico Ebita, Norman Doral, Derrick Andrade, Sergio Andrade and Chona Andrade Tolentino to 18 years imprisonment for graft and estafa through falsification of public documents.

"The Court is convinced that accused Roflo acted with evident bad faith when she repeatedly signed the DTRs (daily time records), accomplishment reports, and contracts of service of the accused job order employees despite their non-rendition of work,” the Sandiganbayan said in its ruling.

“As a result thereof, the Province of Davao Oriental suffered damage in the total amount of PHP349,250 representing the salaries paid to the accused job order employees,” it added.

The anti-graft court noted that the job order employees' participation in the conspiracy is similarly established by their admission that they received their salaries despite the non-rendition of work.

“As earlier stated, their complicity in the scheme is borne out by their uniform testimonies claiming the genuineness of their signatures in the DTRs, accomplishment reports, and contracts of service, which the Court rejects considering other evidence which indicate the contrary,” the Sandiganbayan said.

Roflo and her co-accused were ordered to reimburse the provincial government of Davao Oriental the appropriate amounts, representing the salaries paid, plus interest at the rate of 6 percent per annum, reckoned from the finality of the decision until the amount is fully paid. (PNA)

Comments