The Office of the Ombudsman has found probable cause to charge former Eastern Samar representative Teodulo “Doloy” Coquilla with two counts each of Malversation and violation of Section 3(e) of Republic Act No. 3019 for his involvement in the Priority Development Assistance Fund (PDAF) scam.
Also included in the charge sheet are officials from the National Agri-Business Corporation (NABCOR), namely: Alan Javellana, Encarnita-Cristina Munsod, Ma. Julie Villaralvo-Johnson and Romulo Relevo, and GABAYMASA officials, Margie Luz and Ma. Cristina Vizcarra.
Investigation disclosed that in October 2007, Coquilla received P5million as part of his PDAF for the acquisition of instructional materials and seedlings. To implement the project, a Memorandum of Agreement was entered into by Coquilla, identifying NABCOR as implementing agency and GABAYMASA as NGO-project partner. The project called for the procurement of 32,887 calamundin, rambutan, chico and mango seedlings, and 10,470 instructional materials intended for his constituents in the municipalities of Dolores, Maslog, Jipapad, Lawaan and Guiuan.
Documents show that Coquilla signed the Certificate of Acceptance and Acknowledgment Receipt for the project.
Gross violations of procurement rules were uncovered as the suppliers were unregistered business entities, with non-existent addresses. Discreet surveillance conducted by the Field Investigation Office revealed that the supplier of seedlings is a garden shop engaged in the selling of rocks, pebbles, grass and landscaping services. Meantime, the supplier for the instructional materials is located in a residential area and sells car batteries and wheel interiors.
The Commission on Audit also said that “no fruit seedlings or instructional materials (were) distributed to beneficiaries” and “at the time material to the charges, the suppliers did not possess the required accreditation to transact” as “it had no track record in project implementation.”
According to Ombudsman Conchita Carpio Morales, “as the legislator responsible for the control and/or disposition of funds, drawn from his PDAF allocations, (Coquilla) is an accountable officer.”
The Ombudsman junked Coquilla’s defense that his signatures were forged and ruled that his denial, no matter how vehement, is insufficient to prove forgery.
“To be able to repeatedly divert substantial funds from the PDAF, access thereto must be made available, and this was made possible by Coquilla who chose GABAYMASA to implement his PDAF-related undertakings,” added Ombudsman Morales.
In the approved Resolution, it was further explained that “there is cohesion and interconnection in the respondents’ intent and purpose” and that “the role played by each of them was so indispensable to the success of their scheme, that without any of them, the same would have failed.” ###