Graft conviction of 4 PH Navy officers affirmed

From Malay Business Insight (May 22): Graft conviction of 4 PH Navy officers affirmed
THE Sandiganbayan has affirmed the conviction of four former ranking officers of the Philippine Navy on corruption charges in relation to procurement of drugs and medical supplies 26 years ago.
In a 12-page resolution, the anti-graft court’s First Division junked separate appeals filed by PN Commander Rosendo C. Roque, Commander Ramon C. Renales, Commodore Francisco I. Tolin, and Commander Manuel Ruason aka Manuel Tuason.

Roque, former procurement officer, was convicted on four counts of graft and sentenced to 24-years imprisonment. Renales, price monitoring officer, was meted 18 years in jail on three counts of graft.

Tolin, former deputy commandant of the Philippine Coast Guard, and Ruason,    former PN assistant chief of staff for logistics, both face six years behind bars for one count of graft.

All 25 charges against Vice Admiral (ret.) Mariano J. Dumancas Jr., former flag officer of the Philippine Navy, were dropped because of his death on April 2, 2016.

The cases filed in 2011, stemmed from a special audit of selected transactions of the Philippine Navy in 1991 and 1992. Auditors found violations of procurement rules when the military command resorted to emergency procurement, setting aside the requirement for public bidding in five separate transactions totaling P2.31 million.

The court also swept aside as mere conjecture defendant Renales’ claim of rumors of an impending coup d’état at the time as the basis for waiving the requirement for public bidding.

http://www.malaya.com.ph/business-news/news/graft-conviction-4-ph-navy-officers-affirmed