“Good will always triumph over evil.”
Gov. Roel Degamo downplayed the impact of the news that the Sandiganbayan has ordered his arrest, along with Provincial Treasurer Danilo Mendez and Provincial Accountant Teodorico Reyes, saying it is normal for a court to do so once criminal charges are filed.
In a statement posted on social media last Wednesday, Degamo appealed to his supporters to help him pray that the evil which constantly arises to disturb his administration will be countered by divine providence.
“I am confident and I will face this case when the time comes,” he said.
Degamo cited a Court of Appeals decision that overturned the Ombudsman’s Joint Resolution ordering his dismissal from the service and perpetual disqualification from holding public office, among other penalties, for Grave Misconduct.
Degamo surrendered to the Sandiganbayan Friday, and was allowed by the court to reduce his P2.23 million bail to half. The Sandiganbayan allowed Degamo to post only P1.115 million, equivalent to P15,000 for one count of graft, and P100,000 for each of the 11 counts of the complex crime of malversation with falsification of public documents.
The case stemmed from the insistence of Degamo to award the 11 infrastructure contracts worth P143.2 million, representing the 15 percent advance payment, to the contractors, despite an order from the Department of Budget & Management to return to money to the national coffers. The DBM withdrew the SARO due to the failure of the provincial government to comply with guidelines for infrastructure projects.
The amount was taken from the P480 million in Calamity Funds downloaded by the DBM to the Province of Negros Oriental in 2012 for earthquake and typhoon-ravaged areas of Negros Oriental.
Degamo told the court that the DBM had no control over the money anymore as it was covered by a Notice of Cash Allocation.
But Ombudsman Conchita Carpio Morales said what they should have done was to ask a higher executive authority or secured a judicial directive allowing them to retain control of the funds released to the Province. “This, respondents failed to do,” Morales said.
The Court of Appeals said Degamo had no criminal intent and downgraded his offense from Grave Misconduct to Simple Misconduct. The Court of Appeals also said penalty can no longer be implemented because of the Aguinaldo Doctrine, which says that an official’s administrative liability is extinguished once an official is reelected.
While the Supreme Court has ruled that the Aguinaldo Doctrine can no longer be used to exonerate erring elected public officials, the Court of Appeals used the doctrine in deciding the administrative case against Degamo.
The administrative case has been elevated to the Supreme Court, where it will be heard in an en banc session. The Supreme Court also scheduled a session last Thursday to hear oral arguments on whether the Aguinaldo Doctrine would apply to Degamo’s case.
But in the criminal case, the Sandiganbayan Special Third Division chaired by Presiding Justice Amparo Cabotaje-Tang ordered the issuance of the Warrants of Arrest after finding probable cause for eleven counts of Malversation through falsification of public documents and one count of graft.
Degamo, Reyes, and Mendez had filed a Motion with the Sandiganbayan in August last year, for Judicial Determination of Probable Cause with Motion to Hold in Abeyance the Issuance of Warrants of Arrest.
The court denied the Motion, saying it was “superfluous” to ask the court to conduct a judicial determination without undergoing trial first.
In his motion, Degamo argued that it was illegal for the DBM to withdraw the SARO, claiming that the provincial government complied with all the requisites and that DBM Undersecretary Mario Relampagos made an error when he “failed to examine or see all the required documents which accompanied the fund request.”
Degamo, Reyes and Mendez also said the Sandiganbayan has no basis to proceed with the case as they still have a pending appeal before the Commission on Audit.
In denying the Motion, the Court said the Constitution allows the prosecutors to conduct an investigation and file charges even without the COA’s ruling.
Degamo also informed the Sandiganbayan that the Ombudsman’s Joint Resolution had earlier been reversed by the Court of Appeals.
But the Sandiganbayan said the “Court of Appeals’ decision has no material consequence to the institution of these cases.”
Citing Ferrer vs. Sandiganbayan, the Court said “The long-settled rule in our jurisdiction is that the dismissal of the administrative case against a respondent government official does not bar the filing of a criminal case against him based on the same acts.”
