MANILA, Philippines – The Sandiganbayan has upheld the graft conviction of a former Bureau of Customs wharfinger in Cebu, affirming a 2023 regional court ruling and ordering him to pay indemnity on top of his prison sentence.
In a March 6 decision, the anti-graft court’s 2nd division upheld the findings of a regional court that Conrado Rivera unlawfully intervened in 2006 to release three 40-foot containers from the Port of Cebu despite unpaid port charges of P980,722.
He was sentenced to six years and one month to 10 years in prison under the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act and permanently barred from holding public office. The court also ordered him to reimburse the Cebu Port Authority for the unpaid charges.
The ruling found Rivera abused his authority by instructing port personnel to clear the cargo’s release despite lacking proof of payment. Evidence included testimonies and documents showing the containers, flagged for non-payment, should not have left the port.
“The act of accused Rivera in intervening, which facilitated the release of the cargoes, is what is in point in this case. His act clearly demonstrated a conscious doing of a wrong and moral obliquity for some motive, intent, self-interest, ill will, or ulterior purposes which partakes the nature of fraud,” the court stated.
A guard, Nemesio Luardo Jr., testified that on April 27, 2006, he stopped the container vans at Gate 4 of the Port of Cebu after noticing their withdrawal receipts lacked the required signature confirming payment of port charges.
He said he barred the trucks from leaving and told the drivers they could not depart without properly signed documents.
Instead of securing the signature, Luardo said, a driver approached Rivera, who then instructed him to let the trucks go, promising to handle the paperwork himself.
Former Cebu Ports Authority intelligence chief Edmund Leopoldo Jr. later found the containers had been released without payment.
Rivera, in his defense, maintained that Luardo made the decision to release the trucks without coercion or inducement from him.
He admitted that a truck helper asked him to intercede, and that he told Luardo the shipment had been auctioned and that the winning bidder was entitled to take it.
“Based on records, there is no showing of any ill motive on the part of the witness to pin the blame on the accused. Even if he (Luardo) were the lone witness, his testimony is sufficient to support a conviction,” read part of the 25-page ruling. – Rappler.com