The Sandiganbayan denied the appeal of comedian and former Quezon City councilor Roderick Paulate over his conviction for allegedly hiring ghost employees during his term.
It can be recalled that Paulate was sentenced by the court to at least 10.5 years up to 62 years in confinement after they found that the former councilor hired ‘non-existent’ employees.
He was also found liable for the falsification of documents.
According to the decision of Sandiganbayan, Paulate failed to ‘raise new material allegations that would persuade the court to reconsider or reverse its previous finding of guilt’.
“Moreover, the arguments raised by the accused have already been considered and passed upon in the assailed decision,” the court added.
In the said decision, they found that Paulate’s employees had no records of birth, no NBI clearance, and no residence.
He was also ordered to pay thousands of pesos to the Quezon City Government.
Paulate remained silent during his legal battle and only made a short message to his friend saying that he believed in ‘prayers’.
His colleagues in showbusiness including Cristy Fermin and Carmi Martin expressed their support to Paulate believing that the comedian was innocent and had no bad record involving money in the past.
As of writing, Paulate has yet to give any comment on the decision of the court.