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Sandigan clears ex-Makati mayor Elenita Binay of graft, malversation
The Sandiganbayan has cleared former Makati City mayor Elenita Binay of graft and malversation charges over the P9.9-million purchase of medical equipment.
The anti-graft court's Fourth Division cleared Binay of all charges due to the failure of the prosecution to prove her guilt beyond reasonable doubt.
In the graft charge, however, two of Binay's co-accused were convicted: Conrado Pamintuan and Jaime delos Reyes.
Pamintuan and delos Reyes were both sentenced to spend six to eight years in prison and were perpetually disqualified from public office as a result of their conviction.
Asked if they will appeal their conviction, Pamintuan and delos Reyes answered yes.
The charges against Binay, who served as Makati mayor from 1998 to 2001, stemmed from the P9.9-million purchase of two cryosurgical units with volumetric pressure pumps for Ospital ng Makati without public bidding and supposedly involved falsification of purchase documents in years 2000 and 2001.
The Sandiganbayan has yet to release the full copy of the decision on the Binay case as of posting time.
Acquittals
Since November 2016, the Sandiganbayan has absolved Binay of graft and malversation charges multiple times which include:
- Binay’s acquittal in the graft charge over alleged rigging of bidding for the P21.7-million office furniture and partitions for Makati city government in favor Asia Concept International, Incorporated (acquitted in November 2016, anti-graft court affirmed acquittal in May 2017)
- Binay’s acquittal in the P72-million graft charge over alleged anomalous purchase of office partitions and furniture for Makati city (June 2019)
- Binay’s acquittal in the graft and malversation charge in connection with the purchase of P45-million worth of beds and sterilizers for the Ospital ng Makati in 2000 and 2001 without competitive public bidding and under the pretext that supplier Apollo Medical Equipment and Supplies was the exclusive distributor of the said products (June 2021)
—KG/KBK, GMA Integrated News
