MANILA, Philippines - Three police officers accused of ghost purchases in 1992 were convicted of graft and sentenced to nine years imprisonment each by the Sandiganbayan.
In a 38-page decision, the Sandiganbayan Fifth Division convicted retired Senior Supt. Arnulfo P. Obillos, Chief Insp. Virgilio V. Vinluan and SPO1 Ramon Lihaylihay were convicted of graft by the Sandiganbayan Fifth Division over the alleged ghost purchases of P8 million worth of combat clothing and individual equipment (CCIE) for police personnel in 1992.
Each was given nine-year jail terms and ordered to jointly reimburse the government the entire P8 million after the court found that none of the supposed purchases were actually delivered.
In the same decision dated Aug. 8, the graft court held that there were sufficient evidence to establish the existence of a conspiracy among seven of 10 defendants originally charged in the case.
The seven were Obillos; Vinluan; Lihaylihay; Sr. Insp. Amado Guiriba Jr., member of the inspection of acceptance committee, who remains at large until now; Dante Mateo (deceased), PNP supply accountable officer; Sr. Supt. Marcelo Castillo III (deceased), PNP technical inspector; and Sr. Supt. Bernardo Alejandro (deceased), administrator of the PNP service store system.
Conspiracy existed among the above-mentioned officials who actively participated in the transactions with full knowledge and within the sphere of their respective official functions, by certifying that the supplies requisitioned were necessary; that the supplies were inspected and accepted; and that deliveries were made," the Sandiganbayan said.
The government case against retired Chief Supt. Jose Aquino, former director of the PNP finance service, was junked in 2002 for lack of probable cause while former PNP director for comptrollership Guillermo T. Domondon was acquitted.
Former PNP Chief Cesar Nazareno, who died in 2006, was also cleared of any participation in the fraudulent supply contract.
The anomalous deal was blown open by a special team of government auditors created on the order of former President Fidel V. Ramos on August 6, 1992.
Based on the report by the COA team, the accused unlawfully split the purchases into 16 transactions of P500,000 each to avoid scrutiny by higher authorities.
In its decision, the court noted that splitting was undeniable because several requisition and issue vouchers were issued on the same dates for the same items.
It cannot escape our attention that two RIVs were made on January 1; eight on January 6; three on January 7; and two on January 8. These sixteen requisitions could have been consolidated into a single transaction, or several requisitions on the same day could have also been consolidated," the Sandiganbayan said.
Obillos is now serving as chief-of-staff of Cavite Rep. Joseph Emilio A. Abaya at the House of Representatives. - GMANews.TV