MANILA — The Sandiganbayan has convicted two former officials of the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) Region 12 over irregularities in right-of-way (ROW) payments amounting to P5.3 million.

In a 77-page ruling, the anti-graft court found former DPWH officials David Padlan and Tomas Rodriguez guilty of two counts of graft and multiple counts of falsification of public documents linked to ROW claims processed between 2011 and 2015.

The court said the two falsified documents to justify payments made to Wilfredo and Alicia Leabris, as well as Muhammad Saptula, despite findings that the Leabris couple were not the rightful owners of the land covered by the payouts.

“In these cases, it was proven that the funds released by the DPWH officials were not applied to the purchase of the lots affected by the Cotabato-Surallah National Road project. It was proven that the titles subject of the claims were not owned by Wilfredo nor Alicia Leabris,” the Sandiganbayan said.

Padlan and Rodriguez were each sentenced to six to 10 years of imprisonment for every graft conviction, along with perpetual disqualification from holding public office.

Padlan was also found guilty of four counts of falsification of public documents and was meted prison terms ranging from six months to eight years for each count. He was fined P5,000 per count, totaling P20,000.

Rodriguez, meanwhile, was convicted of nine counts of falsification of public documents and was sentenced to six months to eight years in jail for each count. He was also ordered to pay P5,000 per count, or a total of P45,000. The falsification convictions likewise carried perpetual disqualification from public office.

The court said both officials failed to comply with procedures under DPWH Special Order No. 80, series of 2007, which mandates the Infrastructure Right-of-Way (IROW) Committee to ensure proper evaluation and approval of ROW claims.

It rejected their defense that they merely relied on the recommendations of a Technical Working Group (TWG).

“The creation of the TWG was intended only to provide technical assistance and recommendations and it did not divest the IROW Committee, nor its members, of their responsibility to exercise independent judgment and to ensure that all mandatory validation and verification requirements were strictly observed,” the anti-graft court said.

“The approval of an IROW Committee Resolution triggers the processing and approval of payment for IROW claims and constitutes part of the documentary basis for funding requests submitted to the DBM (Department of Budget and Management). In light of these express and clearly defined duties, the failure of the IROW Committee to verify the authenticity, ownership, and validity of the supporting documents, particularly the transfer certificates of title upon which the claims were founded, constitutes evident bad faith and gross and inexcusable negligence,” it added.

The court stressed that the IROW Committee could not evade liability by relying solely on documents submitted by claimants.

“Their approval of a resolution despite patent defects and falsities in the supporting records reflects a reckless disregard of established safeguards specifically designed to prevent the unlawful disbursement of public fund. Saptula and Alicia Leabris were able to receive government funds that were never used for the acquisition of the property allegedly intended for the road project,” it said.

“Government funds were wrongfully disbursed to parties not entitled thereto, in the amounts of P2,953,643.12 and P2,934,137.53 for the two properties due to the accused IROW Committee members’ blatant disregard for the DPWH Rules on governing IROW claims,” the Sandiganbayan added.

However, the court acquitted Paisal Padate of two counts of graft related to the same ROW payments, citing the prosecution’s failure to establish guilt beyond reasonable doubt.

The anti-graft court also dismissed nine other falsification cases against Padlan and Padate, and cleared Rodriguez of four additional falsification charges, all due to insufficient evidence.

Following the acquittals, the court ordered the cancellation of the corresponding hold departure orders and the release of bail bonds for the cases where the accused were cleared, subject to standard procedures.