Sandiganbayan Convicts Water Execs for Excessive Salary

The Sandiganbayan convicted General Manager Ranulfo Feliciano and Board of Directors (BOD) member Cesar Aquitania, former executives of the Leyte Metropolitan Water District (LMWD), of Malversation and violation of Section 3(e) of Republic Act No. 3019 (Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act) for authorizing the increase in the salary of the General Manager without proper authority.

In a Decision promulgated on 27 January 2015, the Sandiganbayan found that the former Board of Directors of LMWD issued Resolution No. 98-33 approving the salary increase of Feliciano from P18,749.00/month to P57,146.00/month without authority and in total disregard of the prescribed compensation based on the Plantilla of Personnel authorized by the Department of Budget and Management (DBM). The anti-graft court also found that Feliciano approved and received the salary increase in the total amount of P506,246.26.

The Decision stated that “the compensation rates of the officers and personnel of the LMWD must conform with the salary schedule being implemented by the DBM pursuant to the provision of Republic Act No. 6758, or the Compensation and Position Classification Act of 1989.”

For violating the anti-graft law, the court sentenced Feliciano and Aquitania to suffer the penalty of imprisonment of six years and one month as minimum, to 10 years as maximum. For committing Malversation, Feliciano was sentenced to suffer the penalty of imprisonment of 10 years and one day of prision mayor as minimum to 18 years, eight months and one day of reclusion temporal as maximum, and was ordered to pay a fine of P506,246.26. Feliciano was also ordered to indemnify LMWD the amount of P506,246.26. Feliciano and Aquitania were also meted out the penalty of perpetual disqualification from public office.

Co-accused former BOD members Honorio Gerez, Concepcion Medalla, Virginia Flores, Franklin Sicoy and Accounting Section Head Virginia Jo Abayata died during the pendency of the case.

Source: www.ombudsman.gov.ph