Sandiganbayan convicts former DBP official
By JEFFREY G. DAMICOG A former chairman of the board of directors of the Development Bank of the Philippines (DBP) has been sentenced to up to 36 years in prison for having used the bank’s money for his personal use when he went to the United States in 2004. In a 35-page decision, the Sandiganbayan Third Division found former DBP chairman Vitaliano Nanagas II guilty of one count of violating Section 3(i) of Republic Act 3019 (Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act) and two counts of estafa under Paragraph 2, Article 315 of the Revised Penal Code (RPC). “Clearly, the accused was directly interested in the approval of his travel for personal gain since with the said approval, he was able to attend to personal matters without using his own private resources,” read the decision penned by Presiding Justice Amparo Cabotaje Tang and concurred by Associate Justices Samuel Martires and [...]