The Sandiganbayan has denied the attraction of actor Roderick Paulate to reverse his conviction over the hiring of fictitious job contractors in 2010 whereas serving as a Quezon City councilor.
In a decision dated January 23, the court docket’s Seventh Division denied Paulate’s movement for reconsideration of its November 2022 choice for lack of benefit.
“After a careful perusal of the arguments raised by accused, the court finds no cogent reason to disturb its earlier findings. Notably, accused failed to raise new material allegations that would persuade the court to reconsider or reverse its previous finding of guilt,” the court docket stated.
“Moreover, the arguments raised by accused have already been considered and passed upon in the assailed decision,” it added.
The anti-graft court docket additionally denied the attraction of his then-driver and liaison officer, Vicente Bajamunde.
In his movement, Paulate stated that he had no information that the job contractors had been fictitious or nonexistent. He additionally stated there was no try from the prosecution to show that he knew they didn’t exist.
The court docket stated that “according to the best of his personal knowledge, these job contractors exist and that they are real persons.”
Still, Paulate was anticipated to hold out his duties as a public official with “utmost responsibility and integrity,” the court docket stated.
“Since public funds will be disbursed as wages for the job contractors, accused, in choosing to fill up all the 30 job order contract positions in his office, should have ensured that the people he recommended actually exist. But even after the issue [of the] ghost employees came out, he did nothing,” the Sandiganbayan stated.
“The irregular hiring process, the failure to verify, and thereafter ignoring the issues only strengthen the conclusion that there is nothing to verify because the job contractors do not exist. These are clear manifestations of bad faith on the part of the accused,” it added.
Paulate and Bajamunde had been sentenced to 6 to eight years in jail and had been completely disqualified from holding public workplace for his or her graft convictions.
In addition, Paulate and Bajamunde had been ordered by the court docket to collectively and severally pay the federal government P1.109 million, with an rate of interest of 6% per 12 months, till absolutely paid.
Paulate was additionally sentenced to 6 months to 6 years in jail and should pay a fantastic of P10,000 for every of the eight counts of falsification of public paperwork. —VBL, GMA Integrated News
Source: www.gmanetwork.com
