Court acquits ex-PhilPost chief of graftBy The Manila TimesTHE Sandiganbayan’s First Division acquitted former Philippine Postal Corporation (PPC or PhilPost) Postmaster General Diomedio Villanueva of graft over the refund to PhilPost USA of $1.03 million in terminal dues paid for mail sent to the United Kingdom. In a 13-page decision promulgated on Friday, the court ruled out manifest partiality and evident bad faith on the part of Villanueva who was also a former military chief. Based on the decision, PhilPost USA — which had paid the PPC the terminal dues for 2001 — sought the refund in 2003. Villanueva referred the matter to the then-assistant general manager for finance, whose recommendation to proceed with the refund he later approved. This was in addition to two (2) other demand letters sent previously by the PPC to PhilPost USA,” the court said.

Source: Manila Times February 22, 2019 12:22 UTC