Senator Joseph Victor "JV" Ejercito is set to face trial before the Sandiganbayan next month over the alleged unlawful diversion of P2.1-million calamity funds to purchase high-powered firearms for San Juan City police in 2008.
In a pretrial on Thursday, the Sandiganbayan 5th Division set the beginning of Ejercito's trial on July 18, 2016, and on the succeeding Mondays thereafter.
Ejercito was charged with graft for the alleged illegal use of P2.1 million in calamity funds to purchase 20 high-powered firearms from HK Technical Defense System Inc. when was San Juan City mayor in 2008. He is also facing a technical malversation case in a separate Sandiganbayan division where he will be arraigned on June 20.
For the graft case, state prosecutors are presenting 12 witnesses including the representatives from the Office of the Ombudsman, Landbank and the San Juan City government's Office of the Accountant.
Meanwhile, Ejercito, in his defense, seeks to present witnesses from the HKTDSI, San Juan City LGU-Bids and Awards Committee, DILG, Commission on Audit, PNP and members of the media
Also facing trials for graft are former members of the Bids and Awards Committee Ranulfo Dacalos, Rosalinda Marasigan, Romualdo Delos Santos, Lorenza Ching, and Danilo Mercado.
WHY EJERCITO APPROVED GUN PURCHASE
Ejercito, the former mayor of San Juan, earlier explained he tapped into San Juan's calamity funds to purchase high-powered firearms in 2008 because of an "emergency situation" in the city.
He said that in 2006, the Philippine National Police released a memorandum to retrieve all high-powered rifles of the policemen in Metro Manila. This consequently led to thieving and bank robberies as the culprits have stronger ammunition than the police.
To remedy this, he said he conferred with city administrators and told them "we really need to purchase high-powered rifles for our police force as soon as possible."
"I panicked. I called the administrator. I said we can't allow this to happen any longer, we need to purchase high powered rifles for our police force ASAP. They told me it's not in our budget. I told them 'Do what you can. This is an emergency situation.' The only fund available was the calamity fund," he said on ANC's Headstart.
Of the estimated P35-million calamity fund, P2.1-million was used to buy 20 high-powered firearms from HK Technical Defense System Inc. The procurement included three units of Daewoo K2 caliber 5.56mm sub-machine gun and 17 units of Daewoo model K1 caliber 5.56mm sub-machine gun.
Ejercito said the purchase underwent proper bidding and was published online and in daily newspapers.
The 20 rifles, he said, are all still intact and are being used by San Juan Police. He said the P2.1-million used to purchase the firearms was later returned.
Source: ABS-CBN
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