Balita

Sinuspinde ng Sandiganbayan Fifth Division ang mga opisyal ng Department of Budget and Management kaugnay ng pork barrel fund scam case na kinakaharap ni dating APEC Rep. Edgar Valdez.     Suspendido ng 90 araw ang mga opisyal ng DBM na sina sina Mario Relampagos (undersecretary), Rosario Nuñez (Supervising Budget and Management), Lalaine Paule (Administrative Assistant VI), at Marilou Bare (Administrative Assistant VI).       Ang mga opisyal ng Technology Resource Center na sina Marivic Jover (Chief Accountant) at Consuelo Lilian Espiritu, Group Manager; mga opisyal ng Zamboanga del Norte Agricultural College Rubber Estate Corp. na sina Salvador Salacup (pangulo), at Eduardo Nolasco (treasurer); mga opisyal ng National Agribusiness Corp. na sina Romulo Relevo (hepe ng General Services Unit) at Maria Ninez Guañizo (officer-in-charge ng Accounting Services Division); at mga opisyal ng National Livelihood Development Corporation na sina Gondelina Amata (president), Gregoria Buenaventura (hepe ng Asset Management Division), Chita Jalandoni (Director IV), Sofia Cruz (Chief Financial Analyst) at Ofelia Ordoñez (hepe ng Budget Specialist).     “Suspension pendente lite is a measure imposed by the law to safeguard the State while the case is pending and the accused is not penalized per se. Rather the suspension… is a mere preventive measure that arises from the legal presumption that unless the accused is suspended, he may frustrate his prosecution or commit further acts of malfeasance or do both, in the same way that upon a finding that there is probable cause to believe that a crime has been committed and that the accused is probably guilty thereof, the law requires the judge to issue a warrant for the arrest of the accused,” saad ng desisyon.     Ang kaso ay kaugnay ng anomalya umano sa paggamit ng pork barrel fund ni Valdez na inakusahan na tumanggap ng P57.78 milyong kickback mula sa mga non government organization ni Janet Lim Napoles.     Sa susunod na buwan sisimulan ang paglilitis sa kaso ni Valdez.