G.R. No. 219598 - ARNOLD D. NAVALES, REY C. CHAVEZ, ROSINDO J. ALMONTE, AND ALFONSO E. LAID, VS. PEOPLE OF THE PHILIPPINES.

Ruling

WHEREFORE , premises considered, the Court finds accused WILLIAM VELASCO GUILLEN, REY CAÑETE CHAVEZ, ARNOLD DOMINGO NAVALES, ROSINDO JAPAY ALMONTE AND ALFONSO EDEN LAID GUILTY beyond reasonable doubt of violation of Section 3(e) of Republic Act No. 3019, as amended. Accordingly, they are hereby sentenced to suffer the indeterminate penalty of imprisonment of six (6) years and one (1) month, as minimum, to ten (10) years, as maximum, with perpetual disqualification from public office. Since the Court has not acquired jurisdiction over the persons of accused WILFREDO A. CARBONQUILLO and WILFRED GACUS YAMSON, the case against them is ordered archived, the same to be revived upon their arrest. Let an alias warrant of arrest be then issued against accused WILFREDO A. CARBONQUILLO and WILFRED GACUS YAMSON. SO ORDERED . [18] (Emphasis in the original) In its Resolution dated August 7, 2015, the Sandiganbayan denied the following motions for lack of merit: (1) motion for reconsideration filed by Guillen; (2) motion for reconsideration or in the alternative for new trial filed by Navales, Chavez, Almonte, and Laid; (3) motion to reopen case filed by Navales; and (4) supplemental motion to reopen case filed by Navales. [19] In their Petitions filed before the Court on September 24, 2015 and October 1, 2015, petitioners pray that they be acquitted or, in the alternative, that the case be remanded to the Sandiganbayan to allow them to present their evidence. They argue that the prosecution failed to prove the crime beyond reasonable doubt. [20] Petitioners contend that they were charged with graft by awarding a negotiated contract without public bidding but stress that their participation was merely recommendatory to the DCWD board. Hence, it was not possible to commit conspiracy of the offense charged when the members of the DCWD board who actually awarded the contract were not charged at all. As for Laid who signed the certificate of completion, this act had no relation whatsoever to the alleged criminal act of awarding the contract charged in the Amended Information. As for Almonte who signed the daily reports, the same also had no correlation to the alleged criminal act. [21] Finally, petitioners maintain that the gross negligence of their former counsel who decided not to present evidence or allow them to testify on their behalf deprived them of the opportunity to present their own defense. [22] In a Consolidated Comment filed on June 8, 2016, the Office of the Special Prosecutor (OSP) counters that the PBAC-B's resolution to recommend the negotiated contract despite the absence of any real urgency to justify the omission of public bidding constitutes evident bad faith and manifest partiality. In fact, they awarded the contract to Hydrock independently of, and much earlier than the award made by the DCWD board based on the misrepresentation that a public bidding was conducted. While Almonte and Laid were not members of the PBAC-B, they signed vital docu