MANILA, Philippines — Former Pangasinan governor Amado Espino Jr. and other provincial government officials have been acquitted from graft charges that stemmed from the black sand mining controversy in 2011.
In a decision handed down by the Sandiganbayan’s Sixth Division Thursday, the graft charges against Espino, then-provincial administrator Rafael Baraan, housing officer Alvin Bigay, and other private individuals were dismissed for failure of the prosecution to establish evident bad faith when the provincial government tapped companies to excavate black sand or magnetite sand.
The issue came from the controversial black sand mining program in Lingayen, which the government cla…
Keep on reading: Ex-Pangasinan gov, co-accused acquitted of graft over black sand mining issue