BY PETER TABINGO

LIKE a restless ghost, a long-expired permit wrongly approved in favor of a cockfighting operator continues to haunt former Babatngon, Leyte municipal mayor Charito Chan.

In a 16-page resolution issued last November 29, the Sandiganbayan Third Division affirmed its Sept. 30, 2022 decision that convicted Chan of graft for giving her imprimatur to a cockfighting operation despite lack of authority to do so from the Sangguniang Bayan.

The court held that the accused filed her appeal four days beyond the reglementary period, hence the assailed ruling may no longer be modified.

However, regardless if the appeals period is relaxed, the Sandiganbayan said the appeal would still be denied in light of the evidence of guilt marshaled against the defendant former mayor.

Chan issued the Mayor’s Business Permit in favor of applicant Nicomedes Alde even after she had been notified by the Sangguniang Bayan that the previous authority given to her had been repealed.

The accused said she was unaware of the repeal of her authority, saying she never received a copy of the notification from the Sangguniang Bayan. Likewise, she sought consideration by invoking an honest mistake saying she was on her first term at the time and could not have been expected to know everything about the limits of the powers of a municipal mayor.

Her appeal found no sympathetic ear at the Third Division.

“The Court finds accused Chan’s defense as implausible considering the circumstances present at the time material to the case, particularly the position of the accused as the municipal mayor,” the court said.

It noted that as mayor, it was incumbent upon Chan to be informed of ordinances and policies in the grant of license for cockpit operation. It also said that even if the permit expired after a year, the criminal offense had been completed and is not affected by the termination of the permit.

“The resolution of the crime under Section 3(e) of R.A. No. 3019, as amended, is not dependent entirely on whether the mayor’s permit was valid, but more on proving the fact of causing undue injury to the government with evident bad faith, manifest partiality, and/or gross negligence,” it pointed out.

At the same time, while acknowledging that there was no undue damage or injury caused to the government, the Sandiganbayan said prosecutors have sufficiently established that graft was committed when Chan gave unwarranted benefit, advantage or preference to the applicant Nicomedes Alde.

“Contrary to the position raised by accused Chan, damage or injury to the government is not required in order for the last element to exist,” the court added.

This Sunday (March 21) on “The Atom Araullo Specials,” join Atom Araullo as he learns more about hunger in the Philippines in the midst of the pandemic.

It has been more than a year since the coronavirus disease has tremendously impacted the world, killing both people and sources of livelihood.

With the increasing number of COVID-19 cases in the country, Filipino families are fighting to survive each day. And due to price hikes of some basic commodities, even those who are living a decent life before are now experiencing hunger.

In this documentary, Atom meets the people in the metro such as the residents of Aroma, Tondo who are dependent on eating “pagpag” or food scraps. After the closure of restaurants and junk shops due to the lockdown, the search for leftover food from the garbage became hard. In Caloocan, one of the sources of food for starving families is catching gurami fish from gutters or streams near their homes.

Ironically, farmers and fisherfolk in Camarines Norte who are feeding the country are now experiencing extreme hunger. Atom gets to know some community leaders and leaders of organizations who launched sustainable solutions to eradicate hunger in the country.