Romblon Representative Eleandro Madrona and other former Romblon provincial gov't employees were acquitted of a graft charge by the Sandiganbayan on Thursday, regarding the alleged irregular procurement of P4.8 million worth of liquid organic fertilizer back in 2004.
In a 47-page decision, the court's Sixth Division granted Madrona acquittal, highlighting the prosecution's failure to prove all the elements of Section 3(e) of the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act (RA 3019) purportedly breached.
Co-accused who were also acquitted were Geishler Fadri, Oscar Galos, and Elisa Morales. Meanwhile, the case against Joel Sy, Ruby Fafabeir, and Anthony Rugas was dismissed due to their deaths.
“The prosecution having failed to discharge its burden of proving beyond reasonable doubt the guilt of the accused, the latter are entitled to a judgment of acquittal,” the court ruled.
The charges stemmed from Madrona's tenure as governor of Romblon when the procurement of 3,333 bottles of Bio Nature fertilizer from Feshan Philippines Inc. occurred. The prosecution alleged that Madrona favored Feshan by sidestepping public bidding, a violation of procurement laws.
In its decision, the Sandiganbayan noted that the prosecution failed to prove that Madrona favored Feshan, especially since the Bio Nature fertilizer was completely delivered and not overpriced.
“To the mind of this Court, these two crucial facts signify the absence of unwarranted benefit. Indeed, the benefit derived by Feshan Philippines Inc., from the subject transaction is the result of its delivery of the fertilizers procured by the province of Romblon in compliance with its commitment,” the court said.
“Hence, it cannot be said that the revenue they received were unwarranted—meaning, lacking in adequate or official support; unjustified; unauthorized; or without justification or adequate reason,” it added.
