Ex-Maguindanao gov Sajid Ampatuan found guilty of graft, falsification

The Sandiganbayan on Friday found former Maguindanao governor Sajid Ampatuan guilty on eight counts of graft and eight counts of falsification of public documents charges involving P20 million worth of ghost projects involving roads.

The Sandiganbayan Fifth Division, led by Associate Justice Mary Ann Corpuz-Mañalac, subsequently ordered the arrest of Ampatuan since the convicted former public official failed to be physically present for the promulgation.

"Considering he failed to appear in today's promulgation, he already waived the remedies available to him. Let a warrant of arrest be issued for apprehension and serving of sentence of Datu Sajid Ampatuan," Corpuz-Mañalac said, referring to the remedy of posting a cash bond double the amount of the existing cash bond for provisional liberty pending appeal and other related legal recourse.

Ampatuan was sentenced to six to eight years of jail time for each count of his graft conviction, and another two to six years jail time for each count of his conviction for falsification of public documents.

The anti-graft court also ordered Ampatuan to pay the Maguindanao provincial government P22 million as indemnity due to his multiple graft conviction.

Ampatuan was also ordered to pay a P5,000 fine for each of his falsification of public documents conviction.

Sought for comment, Ampatuan's counsel, Atty. Manuel Castro, said they will appeal the ruling. "We will file the necessary motion," he said.

On his client’s absence, Castro said Ampatuan "is not available today due to gout."

Castro, however, failed to secure a medical certificate attesting to such condition prior to the promulgation.

"He is in Maguindanao," Castro told the Sandiganbayan justices when asked about his client's whereabouts.

Others convicted of falsification of public documents were Engineers Yahiya Kandong, Omar Camsa, Anthony Kasan, Akmad Salim and Jaypee Piang.

Of the said engineers, Kandong was convicted of two counts of falsification of public documents charges, while the rest were convicted with one count of the same offense.

The engineers were sentenced to spend two to six years in jail and pay a P5,000 for each count of falsification of public funds conviction.

The anti-graft court allowed engineers to post a cash bond double the amount of their existing P24,000 cash bond for their provisional liberty pending legal recourse to their conviction within five days.

Engineer Kandong, however, will need to post P48,000 cash bond since he was convicted of two counts of falsification of public documents. —KBK, GMA Integrated News