The Supreme Court (SC) ruled on Friday, that officials who violate the procurement laws will not automatically result in a graft conviction.
According to the Court, it is required that all elements of graft be proven, not just the deficiencies in the procurement process. Officials who are convicted of graft are subject to face penalties under Republic Act (RA) No. 3019, or the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act.
The higher Court’s decision stemmed from the Davao City Water District (DCWD) Board of Directors who were charged with bypassing the competitive public bidding concerning the regulations for government infrastructure contracts, under Presidential Decree No. 1594.
However, the SC ruled that the petitioners cannot be held liable for grave misconduct unless there is proof of bad faith. Instead, they were charged with simple neglect of duty or simple misconduct for not following procurement procedures.
“To convict someone under Section 3(e) of RA 3019, the person must be a public officer doing their job. The officer must have acted in bad faith, shown clear favoritism, or been grossly negligent. Their actions must have caused harm to someone or given unfair advantages or benefits to another person,” the SC said.
With that, the SC found no irregularities in the procurement process, adding that no evidence showed the petitioners were motivated by manifest partiality or bad faith.
