THE Sandiganbayan’s Second Division has sentenced former Misamis Occidental Representative Loreto Leo Ocampos to a total of 28 years in prison for the misuse of his P2.1 million Priority Development Assistance Fund (PDAF). In a 31-page decision promulgated on June 10, Ocampos was found guilty of violating Section 3(e) of the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act, as well as malversation of public funds and falsification of documents under the Revised Penal Code.
The court also convicted private respondents Josefina Candole and Jamie Ann Linsangan of the Rich Islas de Filipinas Foundation Inc. (RIDFFI) on similar charges. Each defendant received sentences ranging from six years and one month to ten years for graft, four years and two months to ten years for malversation, and two years and four months to eight years for falsification.
In addition to their prison sentences, Ocampos, Linsangan, and Candole were permanently barred from holding public office and ordered to jointly and severally pay the government P2.1 million in restitution, the amount of misappropriated funds. They were also ordered to pay a fine of P2.1 million.
The charges, filed by the Office of the Ombudsman in 2022, stemmed from allegations that Ocampos misused his PDAF for a purported livelihood project channeled through RIDFFI. The Sandiganbayan determined that the prosecution presented sufficient evidence to prove the project was never completed or implemented.
Two other respondents in the case, former National Commission on Muslim Filipinos (NCMF) chief Mehol Sadain and NCMF finance chief Galay Makalinggan, were dismissed from the case. Sadain’s case was dismissed due to lack of evidence, while Makalinggan’s case was dismissed following his death in 2021.
