Court orders Misuari arrest for alleged “textbook scam”

September 5, 2017

The Sandiganbayan Third Division has ordered the arrest of former Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) Gov. Nur Misuari in connection with six criminal charges arising  from an alleged “textbook scam” or the fraudulent procurement contracts totaling P115.22 million.

The anti-graft court found probable cause to proceed as it added here was no merit in the defense of Misuari and his co-accused their cases had been delayed by the Office of the  Ombudsman.

“From an examination of the records, it can be gleaned that the present cases are part of what is known as the ‘textbook scam,’ which involves transactions not only those subject to these present cases, but also other related transactions. Due to the number of transactions, the investigation, which entailed scrutinizing voluminous records and determining who among the numerous persons involved should be held liable, necessarily took some time,” the ruling said.

“(T)he Court finds that there is probable cause for the issuance of warrants of arrest against the accused,” the ruling said.

During the Aquino administration, Misuari had been ordered arrested for rebellion and violation of Republic Act (RA) 9851, or the Philippine Act on Crimes Against International Humanitarian Law, Genocide, and Other Crimes Against Humanity, for leading the deadly siege in Zamboanga city in 2013.

The Office of the Ombudsman charged Misuari for three counts of graft and three counts of malversation of public funds thru falsification of documents.

Due to the amount of public funds, the prosecution recommended arrest of Misuari without bail for the three malversation cases.

In graft cases, Misuari asked the anti-graft court to set bail bonds amounting to P30,000 for each of the graft charges filed against him.

His co-accused include Director Leovegilda Cinches, chief accountant Pangalian Maniri, supply officer Sittie Aisa Usman – all of the Department of Education (DepEd)-ARMM who are facing all six charges.

Other co-accused were DepEd-ARMM accountant Alladin Usi for two counts each of both offenses while ARMM resident auditor Nader Macagaan, and Cristeta Ramirez of CPR Publishing and Lolita Sambeli of White Orchid Printing and Publishing House for being co-accused in one count each of the same charges. DMS