CA affirms dismissal of former TLRC official
Credit to Author: Tempo Desk| Date: Thu, 04 Apr 2019 06:03:26 +0000
The Court of Appeals has affirmed the dismissal from the service of Dennis Lacson Cunanan, former deputy director general of the then Technology and Livelihood Resource Center, for dishonesty and grave misconduct in the disbursement of P35 million in Priority Development Assistance Fund – also known as the “pork barrel” funds – in 2007.
While Cunanan had resigned in 2014 from the TLRC, now Technology Resource Center, the CA said it did not lose its jurisdiction to resolve his petition challenging his dismissal ordered by the Office of the Ombudsman in 2017.
The CA decision, issued last March 29, was written by Associate Justice Ruben Reynaldo G. Roxas and concurred in by Associate Justices Marlene Gonzales Sison and Victoria Isabel A. Paredes.
PDAF had been declared unconstitutional by the Supreme Court in 2013.
Three complaints were filed against Cunanan and other TRLC officials before the Ombudsman in connection with the disbursement of the P35-million PDAF of then Rep. Salacnib F. Baterina of Ilocos Sur.
Case records showed that Baterina wrote to then TLRC Director General Antonio Ortiz and Cunanan designating the Philippine Social Development Foundation Inc. and Kaagapay Magpakailanpaman Foundation Inc. as recipients of his P35-million PDAF for 2007.
After the signing of the memoranda for the projects, the then TLRC officials certified and signed the disbursement vouchers and other documents for the release of the funds.
Acting on the complaints, the field investigation office of the Ombudsman found out that the then TLRC officials participated directly in the projects through submission of requirements like project profile, fund utilization, project implementation, and monitoring.
Findings of the Commission on Audit showed that there were no documents submitted to substantiate the actual utilization and liquidation of the allocated funds, and the selected non-government organizations as recipients of the PDAF funds were not accredited by the TLRC before the release of the funds.
On verification, the FIO found out that no training or livelihood projects were implemented in the towns identified as recipients of the funds, and no farm inputs or livelihood materials were distributed to target beneficiaries.
The Ombudsman found Cunanan and the other TLRC officials administratively liable and ordered their dismissal from the service. (Rey Panaligan)