OMBUDSMAN Conchita Carpio-Morales has ordered anew the Department of Science and Technology to dismiss three Technology Resource Center officials for grave misconduct, serious dishonesty and conduct prejudicial to the best interest of the service for their involvement in the pork barrel fund scam of a former Davao del Sur lawmaker in 2008.
Those ordered dismissed were Belina Concepcion, Marivic Jover and Consuelo Lilian Espiritu. They were also meted the accessory penalties of cancellation of civil service eligibility, forfeiture of retirement benefits, and perpetual disqualification from holding public service.
The charges arose from the Ombudsman’s findings that then-Davao del Sur representative Douglas Cagas, now the provincial governor, received P16 million as part of his Priority Development Assistance Fund allocation.
The anti-graft watchdog said Cagas illegally channeled the PDF to the Countrywide Agri and Rural Economic and Development Foundation Inc. and the Philippine Social Development Foundation Inc.
Cagas’ son, ex-Rep. Marc Douglas Cagas IV, also misappropriated P6 million of his pork barrel allocation in 2008 through the Farmerbusiness Development Corp., the Ombudsman said.
The father and son used the TRC as the conduit of their scheme, and allegedly received kickbacks amounting to P5.5 million and P9.3 million, respectively, through former Energy Regulatory Commission chairman Zenaida Ducut.
In another pork barrel case, the Office of the Ombudsman also announced the 90-day preventive suspension of former Budget undersecretary for operations Mario Relampagos for his involvement in the scam.
The Sandiganbayan also placed former Association of Philippine Electric Cooperatives Rep. Edgar Valdez under a three-month suspension.
Likewise ordered suspended were Department of Budget officials Rosario Nuñez, Lalaine Paule and Marilou Bare; ZNAC Rubber Estate Corp. officials Salvador Salacup and Eduardo Nolasco; National Agri-Business Corp. officials Romulo Relevo and Maria Ninez Guañizo, and National Livelihood Development Corp. officials Gondelina Amata, Gregoria Buenaventura, Chita Jalandoni, Sofia Cruz and Ofelia Ordoñez.
Valdez, Relampagos and the other co-accused stand trial for violation RA 3019, after the Ombudsman’s investigation showed Valdez siphoned over P50 million in kickbacks when he channeled his 2007 to 2009 PDAF to non-government organizations linked to “PDAF scam queen” Janet Lim-Napoles.