Napoles, ex-DAR exec convicted over P50-M ‘ghost’ projects

MANILA, Philippines — The Sandiganbayan Sixth Division on Friday found businesswoman Janet Lim Napoles and a former Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR) official guilty of malversation over P50 million worth of non-existent projects for farmers in Luzon. Associate Justice Sarah Jane Fernandez read the court’s order finding Napoles and former DAR Undersecretary Jerry Pacturan guilty on 10 counts of malversation of public funds through falsification of public documents. Napoles was also found guilty on 10 counts under the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act, while Pacturan was acquitted in these cases due to prosecutors’ failure to prove his guilt beyond reasonable doubt. Napoles was sentenced to up to 20 years for each count of malversation and up to 15 years each for each count of graft. Pacturan was sentenced to up to 19 years, 1 month, and 11 days as maximum in each of the 10 counts for malversation. Napoles attended the promulgation via teleconferencing, while Pacturan was physically present in the court. Government prosecutors said Pacturan was a purported signatory to a 2011 memorandum of agreement (MOA) between 10 local government units (LGUs) and their corresponding 10 non-government organizations (NGOs), which were allegedly linked to Napoles. Pacturan was the former DAR undersecretary for support service when he allegedly signed the MOAs with involved NGOs. Prosecutors said the 10 LGUs were supposed to receive P5 million in farm inputs, to be procured by the NGOs. However, they said witnesses from the LGUs testified that these projects were non-existent. Furthermore, eight out of 10 mayors from provinces including Bulacan, Batangas, Pangasinan and Quezon testified in court, saying that their signatures in the letter requests for funding were fake, according to the prosecutors. “They made it appear that the mayors endorsed the corresponding LGUs of Napoles,” a member of the prosecution team told reporters on condition of an on-background arrangement. “It turned out these were false because it was denied by the mayors.” Prosecutors clarified that these were not projects under the Priority Development Assistance Fund, but under the regular funds of DAR. /das