Former DOH regional director convicted of graft
Published Jun 20, 2019 02:03 pm
By Czarina Nicole Ong-Ki
Former Department of Health (DOH) Region 11 director Sulpicio Legaspi has been found guilty by the Sandiganbayan Second Division of seven counts of graft due to the irregular purchase of drugs in 1991.
Sandiganbayan (MANILA BULLETIN)
He was sentenced to suffer the penalty of imprisonment ranging from six years and one month as minimum to eight years as maximum for each of the graft charges.
No civil liability is adjudged for four of the graft charges but Legaspi and his two other co-accused were held liable to pay back the government P162,568 for the three other graft charges.
Meanwhile, Legaspi has been acquitted of four other graft charges due to the failure of the prosecution to prove his guilt beyond reasonable doubt.
For the case, the prosecution relied heavily on its lone witness, Commission on Audit (COA) Auditor Noemi Wong, who was assigned at the DOH Regional Office XI.
She was the one who bared the inconsistencies in the procurement of drugs. These included the award of the purchase order to the supplier who was not the lowest bidder, the lack of public bidding, the resort to direct contracting, overpricing, and the lack of required drug or product registration of the item purchased, among many other things.
After carefully studying the evidence adduced by the prosecution, the court ruled that there was a clear violation of Section 3(e) of R.A. 3019 or the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act in seven instances.
These included the overpriced purchase of 6,880 bottles of multivitamins with Lysine syrup at 60 ml. For every 2,000 bottles, the government paid P60,000; however, it was overpriced by P47, 200.
They also purchased 2,000 bottles of benzyl benzoate 25 percent at 120 ml. The latter, in particular, was purchased for P86,400 but was overpriced by P67,968.
Legaspi was also convicted for the purchase of several bottles of Ferrous Sulfate from Thenard Medical Systems even though Compact Pharmaceuticals was the winning bidder. At the same time, the product lacked the required product or drug registration which guarantees the safety and efficacy of the product.
As for the last graft charge in which Legaspi was convicted, it was for the overpriced purchase of goods and services amounting to P248,640. However, the transaction turned out to be overpriced by P188,580.
Sandiganbayan (MANILA BULLETIN)
He was sentenced to suffer the penalty of imprisonment ranging from six years and one month as minimum to eight years as maximum for each of the graft charges.
No civil liability is adjudged for four of the graft charges but Legaspi and his two other co-accused were held liable to pay back the government P162,568 for the three other graft charges.
Meanwhile, Legaspi has been acquitted of four other graft charges due to the failure of the prosecution to prove his guilt beyond reasonable doubt.
For the case, the prosecution relied heavily on its lone witness, Commission on Audit (COA) Auditor Noemi Wong, who was assigned at the DOH Regional Office XI.
She was the one who bared the inconsistencies in the procurement of drugs. These included the award of the purchase order to the supplier who was not the lowest bidder, the lack of public bidding, the resort to direct contracting, overpricing, and the lack of required drug or product registration of the item purchased, among many other things.
After carefully studying the evidence adduced by the prosecution, the court ruled that there was a clear violation of Section 3(e) of R.A. 3019 or the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act in seven instances.
These included the overpriced purchase of 6,880 bottles of multivitamins with Lysine syrup at 60 ml. For every 2,000 bottles, the government paid P60,000; however, it was overpriced by P47, 200.
They also purchased 2,000 bottles of benzyl benzoate 25 percent at 120 ml. The latter, in particular, was purchased for P86,400 but was overpriced by P67,968.
Legaspi was also convicted for the purchase of several bottles of Ferrous Sulfate from Thenard Medical Systems even though Compact Pharmaceuticals was the winning bidder. At the same time, the product lacked the required product or drug registration which guarantees the safety and efficacy of the product.
As for the last graft charge in which Legaspi was convicted, it was for the overpriced purchase of goods and services amounting to P248,640. However, the transaction turned out to be overpriced by P188,580.