12 gov’t officials sacked over ‘pork barrel scam’

Office of the Ombudsman in Quezon City. Photo courtesy of DGR Law Offices.

MANILA—Twelve government officials were sacked yesterday by the Office of the Ombudsman for their involvement in the pork barrel scam.

National Livelihood Development Corp. (NLDC) employees Gondelina Amata, Sofia Cruz, Chita Jalandoni, Ofelia Ordoñez, Filipina Rodriguez and Emmanuel Sedival; Belina Concepcion, Dennis Cunanan, Consuelo Lilian Espiritu and Marivic Jover of the Technology Research Center (TRC); Victor Cacal and Romulo Relevo of the National Agribusiness Corp. (NABCOR) were dismissed from service from being parties to the misuse of former Benguet congressman Samuel Dangwa’s P54 million Priority Development Association Fund (PDAF). They were found to be guilty of grave misconduct and conduct prejudicial to the best interest of the service.

Dangwa’s PDAF were supposedly used for livelihood and agricultural assistance packages which, according to the Special Audit Report of the Commission on Audit (COA), were nonexistent, the Philippine Star reported.

The sacked government officials allegedly processed and approved the transactions for the bogus projects. They also facilitated the falsified documents supporting liquidation of funds when lack of track record to materialize the projects was evident. Biddings were also not held.

“In spite of these deficiencies, respondent public officers Amata, Cunanan, Cacal, Relevo, Sevidal, Cruz, Jalandoni, Jover, Rodriguez, Ordoñez, Espiritu and Concepcion, with indecent haste, expedited the release of the PDAF disbursements to the NGOs affiliated with or controlled by Napoles. These foregoing acts of respondents constitute grave misconduct and conduct prejudicial to the best interest of the service,” read the 58-page decision of Ombudsman Conchita Carpio Morales.