Ex-PAF general, major get 17 years for graft, malversation

The Sandiganbayan anti-graft court on Wednesday convicted two retired military officials of graft and malversation charges and sentenced them to 17 years imprisonment. The case against retired Brig. Gen. Vladimir Delos Trino and Major Antonio Garcia were filed in connection with the alleged anomalous sale of four Caterpillar generators to a private individual nine years ago. In a 48-page decision, the Sandiganbayan Third Division sentenced the two to six to 10 years imprisonment for graft and 12 to 17 years for malversation. Aside from jail terms, the two were also ordered to indemnify the government P1.2 million, equivalent to the value of the four generators. They were also barred from holding any government position. The decision was issued while the Armed Forces of the Philippines struggles to improve its image as one of the most corrupt agencies in the government. Court records show that the offense was committed on December 13 and 14, 2002 when Delos Trino was wing commander of the 2nd Tactical Operations Wing of the Benito Ebuen Air Base in Mactan. At the time, Garcia was the squadron commander. Both the accused testified during trial and each tried to put the blame on the other, with Delos Trino claiming that Garcia sold the generators for P800,000 without informing him. Garcia, on the other hand, told the court that it was Delos Trino who made the transaction with buyer Antonio Ularte, and that the general offered him P20,000 in cash after payment was delivered. He claimed he returned the money to the base commander. The court, however, held that both were liable for their participation in a fraudulent transaction particularly with the admission of Garcia that the deal was consummated without conducting any public bidding to get the highest offer possible. The amount of P1.2 million was based on the quotation from KCJ Construction Development Corporation/De Guzman, which was presented by Assistant Special Prosecutor Gay Marie Lubigan-Rafael during the trial. The firm was offering to buy the supposedly “unserviceable generators." “In the case at bar, the Prosecution was adequately able to establish that through the illegal sale of the four generators, the Philippine Air Force of the Armed Forces of the Philippines lost P1,200,000 in revenue," the Sandiganbayan declared. The graft also issued arrest warrants against two other defendants, Mactan Air Base supply accountable officer Dante Senen and Ularte who remained at large during trial. The decision was penned by Associate Justice Alex L. Quiroz. Associate Justices Samuel R. Martires and Francisco H. Villaruz Jr., division chairman, concurred. — KBK, GMA News