FORMER Palawan governor Joel Reyes was convicted by the Sandiganbayan for graft for granting the renewal of small-scale mining permits to Olympic Mines and Development Corporation (OMDC) despite exceeding allowable limit.
The Sandiganbayan on Wednesday, August 30, sentenced Reyes to six to eight years in jail.
Reyes granted the renewal of OMDC's mining permit valid from April 6, 2006 to April 5, 2008 despite the mining firm's previous permit that remains valid up to November 3, 2006.
The court said the firm already mined and extracted the annual maximum 50,000 dry metric tons (DMT) of ore in its previous permit (or 100,000 DMT for the two-year period), allowing the OMDC to mine and extract in excess of allowable limit.
Here is the full decision from the Sandiganbayan:
Joel Reyes by Sun.Star Philippine news on Scribd
(SunStar Philippines)