Governor jailed 115 years over corruption
Published on: Thursday, July 18, 2019
SAMAR: Former Samar congresswoman and current Governor Milagrosa Tan will have to vacate her post and spend the rest of her life in prison.The Sandiganbayan has affirmed its ruling convicting Tan of graft and sentencing her to up to 115 years in prison over the anomalous purchase of emergency supplies for victims of Typhoon Kidang worth P16.1 million when she was governor in 2001.
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Magistrates of the anti-graft court’s fourth division denied for lack of merit the motions filed by Tan and her co-accused to reverse its March 2019 ruling.
Tan and four former provincial government officials were convicted of eight counts of graft.
The fourth division also ordered Tan’s perpetual disqualification from holding public office. It recommended bail of P240,000 for Tan’s temporary liberty while appealing her conviction.
“After considering the motions for reconsideration, the court maintains that while it was made to appear that there were competitive public biddings held by the provincial government... which led to the eventual award to Raechels Shoppers Plaza, none was in fact legitimately carried out,” the court said in its June 26 ruling.
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“Accused were also unable to reconcile the disparity between the attendance sheets and the minutes for each bidding process. In addition, their testimonies contradicted those of their witnesses,” the ruling read. In filing the cases in 2006, the Office of the Ombudsman said the provincial government procured cement, medicine, t-shirts and electric fans for typhoon victims without public bidding.
Meanwhile, in San Sebastian town also in Samar, a four-member team from the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) Tuesday installed Vice Mayor Eleuterio Mabao as acting mayor.
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