THE Sandiganbayan has found actor Roderick Paulate guilty of graft and falsification charges and sentenced him to at least 10 years minimum jail time in connection with the hiring of fictitious job contractors in 2010 during his stint as Quezon City councilor.
In a 130-page decision dated Nov. 25, the court said Paulate recommended the hiring of 30 individuals under job contracts who received wages from July to December 2010 even if their Personal Data Records were riddled with irregularities.
According to the Sandiganbayan, the government prosecutors were able to prove the following:
* job order employees have no records of birth;
* none of the job order employees have requested for a National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) clearance;
* the job order employees could not be located at their given residences;
* the job order employees were not registered voters of their respective barangays; and
* the job order employees have no record in the schools where they allegedly attended.
Paulate and his co-accused, then-driver/liaison officer Vicente Bajamunde, were sentenced to six to eight years jail time and perpetually disqualified from public office for their graft conviction.
In addition, Paulate and Bajamunde were ordered by the court to jointly and severally pay the government P1.109 million, with an interest of 6% per year, until fully paid.
Paulate was also sentenced to six months to six years in jail and pay a fine of P10,000 for each of the eight counts of falsification of public documents. Bajamunde was acquitted in these same eight cases for the failure of the prosecution to prove his guilt beyond reasonable doubt.
The court also sentenced him with six months to six years in jail time and a fine of P10,000 for his conviction on the falsification by a public officer charge.
Paulate, during the course of the hearing, argued, among others, that certifications from schools and barangays only prove that a person is not a student or a resident, but they do not conclusively prove that the job contractors are fictitious.
But the Sandiganbayan said this “does not amount to a convincing defense that deserves credence from this court.”
The Sandiganbayan also said the testimonies of defense witnesses were merely denials that the job order workers are fictitious and are unsubstantiated by any positive evidence as to their existence. (GMA Integrated News)
