ILOILO – The Sandiganbayan has found guilty of graft “beyond reasonable doubt” former congresswoman Judy Syjuco of the 2nd District in connection with a vocational education program funded with P20 million from her Priority Development Assistance Fund (PDAF) in 2005.
Syjuco was sentenced to a maximum of eight years in prison and was further perpetually disqualified by the anti-graft court from holding public office.
The education program, with a budget of P20 million, was ran by the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA) that was then headed by Syjuco’s husband Augusto, former congressman of the 2nd District (now deceased).
In a 33-page decision written by Associate Justice Oscar Herrera Jr. dated Nov. 12, the anti-graft court’s Special Second Division convicted with Syjuco former TESDA deputy director general for field operations Santiago Yabut Jr., and Tagipusuon Cooperative president Maria Nela Yniesta.
Syjuco’s husband Augusto was also charged with graft but the complaint was dismissed following his death in January 2020.
Syjuco, Yabut and Yniesta were also ordered to pay the government a total of P6.984 million in civil liabilities.
The charges filed on July 23, 2014 were for the following:
* violation of Section 3(e) of Republic Act 3019 (Crim. Case No. SB-14-CRM-0331) – causing undue injury to the government, or giving any private party any unwarranted benefits, advantage or preference through manifest partiality, evident bad faith or gross inexcusable negligence
* violation of Section 3(g) of the same law (Crim. Case No. SB-14-CRM-03321) – entering, on behalf of the government, into any contract or transaction manifestly and grossly disadvantageous to the same, whether or not the public officer profited or will profit thereby
The pieces of evidence presented by the prosecution “more than sufficiently established the required quantum proof for the conviction of the accused of the offenses charged,” the Sandiganbayan ruled.
Syjuco, Yabut and Yniesta were accused of entering into transactions with the Tagipusuon Cooperative founded by the Syjucos in 1998, for the implementation of the “Education for All” program.
The transaction involved a Memorandum of Agreement with the cooperative, covering its Invigorating Constituent Assistance in Reinforcing Employment (I-CARE) Program, to be funded by Syjuco’s PDAF for P20 million.
Records showed the Department of Budget and Management issued two Special Allotment Release Orders at P10 million each from the PDAF of Syjuco in 2005.
But according to the Sandiganbayan, the cooperative was unqualified at the time.
Ombudsman investigators also found that Augusto Syjuco Jr. issued TESDA Order No. 1C Series of 2006 supposedly providing school bags, supplies, and uniforms for elementary and high school students from the 2nd District of Iloilo under the I-CARE program, in violation of the agency’s mandate to provide technical education and skills development to Filipino “middle-level manpower”.
Middle-level manpower is generally defined as the working force between an unskilled worker and a professional.
According to the Sandiganbayan, aside from handing the money to an unqualified cooperative for an unauthorized purpose, “there was no proper liquidation of the funds received by Tagipusuon Cooperative”, noting that the liquidation of P14.7 million from the PDAF of P20 million, as reported by Tagipusuon, was unacceptable.
The court noted that P5.297 million was still missing from the equation and unliquidated, and the P1.687 million used by the cooperative to pay its overhead and other expenses were not allowed under government guidelines.
Tagipusuon also spent the PDAF funds on administrative costs, including hotel expenses, according to the Sandiganbayan.
“PDAF funds…was misused in violation of law and contrary to applicable rules and regulations. This being so, the accused, through their actions, demonstrated manifest partiality and evident bad faith,” read part of the Sandiganbayan decision.
It added that “unwarranted benefits were given to Tagipusuon Cooperative ther eby causing undue injury to the government.” (With a report from the Philippine News Agency/PN)
