Ex-Palawan gov Mario Joel Reyes gets up to 40 yrs for graft

The Sandiganbayan has sentenced former Palawan governor Mario Joel Reyes to up to 40 years in prison for questionable contracts worth P1.5 billion during his term.

Reyes was found guilty of 11 counts of violating Section 3(e) of Republic Act (RA) 3019, which prohibits public officials from giving unwarranted benefits or causing undue injury to any party.

The anti-graft court sentenced Reyes and provincial planning and development coordinator Samuel Madamba II to six to ten years in prison for each count, totaling a minimum of 66 years, though the maximum sentence under Philippine law is 40 years.

Reyes was also disqualified from holding public office while Madamba was acquitted of three other counts due to insufficient evidence provided by the prosecution.

The charges were filed by the Office of the Ombudsman in 2017 and stemmed from contracts for various construction projects awarded during Reyes' term as governor in 2008, involving the fraudulent use of Palawan's P1.585 billion share in oil and gas royalties.