Ex-Palawan Gov. gets jail term of 6 to 8 years

Former Palawan Governor Joel Reyes has been convicted of graft by the Sandiganbayan on Wednesday.

The anti-graft court's Third Division has sentenced the ex-governor to imprisonment of six to eight years.

The case is in connection with his grant of an extended permit to operate to mining firm Olympic Mines and Development Corporation (OMDC).

The mining company was found to have over-extracted mineral ores in Palawan.

OMDC went way beyond the annual production limit of 50,000 metric tons set by the Small-Scale Mining Law.

Reyes' co-accused, Andronico Baguyo, was acquitted.

Baguyo was head of the technical secretariat of Palawan Provincial Mining Regulatory Board.