9 charged over Quedancor scam

The Office of the Ombudsman has charged nine individuals in connection with the unaccounted loans amounting to millions of pesos released by Quedan and Rural Credit Guarantee Corp. (Quedancor) for its swine program during the Arroyo administration. Charged were Quedancor’s operation officer Ray Joven, district accountant Analyn Hobayan, and Manila district supervisor Joel Sibal Gagelonia. Private individuals who were also charged were RDY Moneylink owner Reynaldo Yumol, and Moneylink officials Garry Constantino, Digna Diaz Yumol Calison, Arsenia Diaz Yumol, Numeriano Yumol, and Carlo Francisco. Ombudsman’s graft investigation and prosecution officer Randolph Nicolas said the nine facilitated the release of some P1 million of Quedancor funds to fictitious employees in a Las Piñas City school. In a 12-page resolution, Nicolas said the Quedancor officials recommended the approval of loan applications of RDY Moneylink amounting to P1.239-million. He said the 28 checks that were drawn from Landbank of the Philippines' Taft Avenue Branch were supposed to go to 28 employees of Westfield Science Oriented School in BF Resort Village in Las Piñas City. Quedancor, however, declared that it lost some P1.239 million representing the principal loan, including the total value of the 28 checks and financial charges, such as service fees worth P37,170, documentary stamps tax worth P6,195, insurance worth P11,894.40, and gross receipts tax worth P1,858. The National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) later found out that the 28 employees of Westfield and all documents for their loan applications were all fictitious. The bureau also presented the sworn affidavit of Albert Abitria, president of Westfield Science Oriented School, denying that the 28 names who received the Quedancor checks of more than P1 million were their employees. “He (Abitria) categorically confirmed that those 28 applicants are neither employees of Westfield nor their names appeared in the school payrolls from years 2005 to 2009 or Social Security System R-3 forms," Nicolas said. “As such, base on the established facts, Quedancor was defrauded in the amount of P1,239,000 because the public and private respondents conspired with one another to produce and prepare all the spurious documents for the 28 fictitious loan applicants," he added. A P60,000 bail has been set for the temporary liberty of all the accused. Quedancor launched a swine program in 2003 to assist farmers venturing into hog-raising. Some P5 billion in funds went to the project, with P3 billion coming from the Land Bank of the Philippines and P2 billion from Equitable-PCI Bank, and government bonds issued as collateral. But the Commission on Audit's (COA) 2005 Report found that the program had P755.62 million in outstanding loan balance and P663.77 million in receivables. The COA findings also said the procurement of input supplies for Quedancor swine program amounting to P1.67 billion during the year was not in accordance with government procurement procedures, and the high cost of credit was not beneficial to farmer beneficiaries. COA also said some borrowers denied borrowing from Quedancor, and that the team leader or input suppliers sought their signatures in exchange for amounts ranging from P200 to P300. - Jesse Edep/KBK, GMANews.TV