Ex-BFAR officials plead not guilty

TWO former officials of the Department of Agriculture's (DA) Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) have pleaded not guilty on four counts of graft in connection with the anomalous P2-billion vessel monitoring system (VMS) project implemented in 2018.

Former DA undersecretary for fisheries and BFAR national director Eduardo Gongona, and former BFAR national director Demosthenes Escoto are facing trial after their arraignment on Feb. 26 before Judge Don Ace Mariano Alagar of the Regional Trial Court (RTC) Branch 141 in Cainta, Rizal.

Both pleaded not guilty to the charges and subsequently submitted their respective pretrial briefs as the case proceeded to trial.

Earlier, the two posted bail of P360,000 each before the RTC in exchange for their temporary liberty.

They are charged with two counts of violating Section 3(e) of Republic Act (RA) 3019, or the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act, and one count each under Sections 3(g) and 3(j) of the same law, for their alleged role in the alleged improper awarding of the VMS contract to a British firm.

Also charged is Simon Tucker, CEO of United Kingdom-based SRT Marine Systems Solutions Ltd., who has yet to submit to the jurisdiction of the court.

In its order denying the motions to quash filed by the three accused, the court directed Tucker to surrender and post bail.

The graft charges stemmed from a complaint filed by James Mier Victoriano against Gongona, Escoto, Tucker, former DA assistant secretary Hansel Didulo and SRT-UK's chief financial officer Richard Hurd.

The Ombudsman, however, dismissed the charges against Didulo and Hurd for lack of evidence and found no violations of RA 9184, or the Government Procurement Reform Act.

Records show that the VMS project, initially budgeted at P1.6 billion under a French government loan, required bidders to either be French or in a joint venture with a French entity.

SRT-France, a subsidiary of SRT-UK, initially won the bid in 2017 but was disqualified by the French government due to its British ownership and lack of operational facilities in France, resulting in the collapse of the loan agreement.

In 2018, local funding increased the project's budget to P2.09 billion, and SRT-UK was awarded the contract.

The project scope expanded to cover 5,000 VMS transceivers for commercial fishing vessels and satellite service subscriptions, significantly increasing the government's financial obligations.

In a resolution dated Feb. 5, 2024, the Ombudsman found that Gongona, Escoto and Tucker conspired to award the contract to SRT-UK in a manner grossly disadvantageous to the government.