By. Rene Malferrari
On January 28, 2025, the Sandiganbayan sentenced businesswoman Mary Ann Tupa Maslog to 10 years in prison for her involvement in a 1998 PhP24 million textbook scam. She was convicted under the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Law (Republic Act 3019) and is also permanently disqualified from holding public office. Maslog had previously faked her death and used the alias Dra. Jessica Sese Francisco to evade prosecution. In court, Maslog admitted to having been briefly released from the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) detention facility by presenting a fake release order, despite her bail petition being denied. The case stems from a 2008 complaint by the Ombudsman, accusing Maslog of falsifying documents to secure payments for textbooks and materials that were never delivered. The payments were made using two fake Sub-Allotment Release Orders (SAROs), Maslog's fraudulent activities began when she falsified documents to make it appear that the Department of Budget and Management had allocated funds for the 1998 textbook project, a scam uncovered when the DBM denied any such allocation. Even after her initial conviction, she continued to evade authorities by using multiple identities. In 2024, she was arrested under the alias Dra. Jessica Sese Francisco for scamming investors in Mindanao, but fingerprint matching revealed her true identity. The court highlighted her attempts to mislead authorities, including having her child falsely report her death in 2019. Despite attempts to post bail, Maslog remains in NBI custody while appealing her conviction.
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