The Sandiganbayan has ordered the arrest of two former mayors of Narvacan, Ilocos Sur, and two others facing malversation and graft charges.
Ordered arrested are Edgardo Zaragoza and his son, Zuriel, who are both former mayors of the town, municipal accountant Melody Cadacio, and education research assistant Mario Cabinte.
The four were charged with malversation of public funds amounting to P81 million and violation of Republic Act 3019 or the Antigraft and Corrupt Practices Act
Incumbent Narvacan Mayor Luis Singson filed the charges against the four for allegedly misappropriating the P81 million that the town received as a share from the excise tax on locally manufactured cigarettes.
The antigraft court set the bail for the four at P210,000 each.
In his complaint, Singson alleged that the misappropriated funds were meant for tobacco farmers in the town and should have been given to the Farmers Association of Narvacan.
The respondents allegedly forged records to pad the number of farmer-beneficiaries of the excise tax, Singson claimed.
“The people of Narvacan suffered due to the abuses committed by local officials,” Singson said.
The Zaragozas and the other accused questioned the sufficiency of Singson’s accusation saying that it was “largely based on the testimony of another co-accused turned witness, Constante Cabitac, the farmers’ association president who claimed he was made to encash checks more than 10 times, including one worth P35 million, in exchange for grocery allowance.
“The accused’s insistence that the farmer-beneficiaries of the P81 million indeed received the amount and/or farm equipment, tools and implements purchased with the said funds, is a matter of defense that is best left for the court to resolve after a full-blown trial on the merits. A full-blown trial is to be preferred to ferret out the trust. If, as the accused claim, there was no misappropriation or misuse of public funds, the same may be resolved during the trial. It is only then that the guilt or innocence of the accused may be determined.” the court said.
