MANILA, Philippines — Former Angeles City mayor Francis Nepumoceno was found guilty of graft by the Sandiganbayan and sentenced to a jail term of six to 10 years for illegally donating a government vehicle in 2010.
Also convicted for violating Sections 3 (e) and 3 (g) of Republic Act No. 3019, or the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act, was Abelardo Pamintuan Jr., president of Kapanalig Angeles Ciy Inc.
Prosecutors said the former mayor’s donation of a Mitsubishi Adventure to Kapanalig, a non-stock, non-profit organization headed by his known ally, Pamintuan, violated the Local Government Code and audit rules, which provide that disposable supplies or properties of any government entity cover only unserviceable properties or those that are no longer needed, and may be donated only in meritorious cases with the approval of the city council.
In August 2010, the Commission on Audit released an audit observation memorandum “questioning the propriety of the donation considering its adverse effects on the city’s financial condition and recommended its retrieval.”
“It is readily seen that the deed of donation executed by accused Nepomuceno is manifestly and grossly disadvantageous to the government because there is no lawfully acceptable justification for his blatant disregard of pertinent rules on the proper disposal of local government property vis-à-vis his mandated responsibility to enforce all laws relative to the governance of the city. For his actions, the city government was deprived of the use of its serviceable vehicle,” the anti-graft court said in its ruling
“And if at all the said vehicle may indeed be disposed of, the city government would have gained more advantage had accused Nepomuceno properly followed the rules on property disposal considering that the donated motor vehicle could have been sold at public auction, or transferred to another government agency,” it added.