Ex-Vizcaya mayor gets jail term for fund misuse

The Sandiganbayan Second Division has convicted former Kayapa, Nueva Vizcaya municipal mayor Tony Dupiano of mishandling public funds or property and sentenced him to one-year imprisonment. In a 17-page decision released Tuesday, the anti-graft court found Dupiano guilty of illegally diverting P245,111 worth of construction materials that were purchased for the construction of the Sta. Cruz-Pingkian Footbridge to another project. The Sandiganbayan threw out Dupiano’s defense that the transfer of the cement and steel bars to Acnip Footbridge was done on the request of village officials in the area. The court pointed out that the proper authorization should have come from Kayapa’s municipal council. “His refusal to get the permit of the Sangguniang Bayan on matters involving public funds and property only shows his intention to disregard the law or his recklessness to ignore the same," the antigraft court said. “In the more prosaic language of the law, there was proof beyond reasonable doubt of the guilt of the accused." Likewise, the verdict noted that based on documents on record, the Acnip Bridge repair project had its own appropriation of P30,000 that raised doubts on the claim of Dupiano that the construction materials were used for it. “The court is not convinced that the unused materials…were really utilized in the construction of the Acnip Hanging Bridge," the court said. It noted that nobody testified as to the actual construction and termination of the work on Acnip Footbridge. “No report was made how much was actually spent in the supposed completion of the said Bridge," the court said. - GMANews.TV