By el Amigo
MANILA — The Sandiganbayan has rejected the pleas filed by Erwin Krishna Santos, former vice president of the now-defunct Philippine Forest Corporation (PhilForest), along with two others, seeking the dismissal of graft charges against them. These charges are linked to the alleged misappropriation of PHP5.46 million from the Priority Development Assistance Fund (PDAF) in 2012.
In a resolution dated April 18, the anti-graft court dismissed the motions for dismissal filed by Santos, Gracita Sales, and Quennie Rodriguez, deeming them “unwarranted.”
The charges accused the trio of inflicting undue harm on the government and providing undue benefits to the Maharlikang Lipi Foundation, Inc., a non-governmental organization tasked with executing former Mindoro Oriental Second District congressman Reynaldo Umali’s PDAF for livelihood projects, which were found to be non-existent.
“After a thorough examination of the evidence, both testimonial and documentary, the court finds the pleas of the defendants for leave to file a demurrer to evidence unwarranted,” the court stated.
“The evidence presented by the prosecution appears to be prima facie sufficient for the conviction of the accused on the charges outlined in the filed information unless effectively refuted by defense evidence,” it continued.
PhilForest, the agro-forestry entity under the Department of Environment and Natural Resources, was dissolved in 2014.