The Sandiganbayan’s First Division has
dismissed a graft case filed against Ilocos Sur Vice Gov. Deogracias Victor
Savellano last year, as it cited “unreasonable delay” by the Office of the
Ombudsman that violated his right to a speedy disposition of the case.
Savellano, a former
Ilocos Sur governor, was indicted on orders of Ombudsman Conchita Carpio-Morales
in October 2013 along with fellow former governor Luis “Chavit” Singson.
Singson was charged
for alleged anomalies from 1998 to 2001 and Savellano from 2001 to 2003,
covering alleged unlawful releases of public funds totaling P26,060,500 in
financial assistance to Multi-Line Food Processing International Inc.
After looking into the
records of the case, the anti-graft court, however, learned that the original
complaint against the two was filed with the Office of the Ombudsman on Dec. 5,
2002 yet it was only on Dec. 10, 2012 that Savellano was directed to answer the
allegations.
The First Division,
composed of Associate Justices Efren de la Cruz, chairman, and Rodolfo
Ponferrada and Rafael Lagos, said such a delay violated Savellano’s right to
due process.
Singson also raised
the same argument in his motion to quash the case against him pending before
the Sandiganbayan’s Fifth Division.
“It is worth to stress that in this span of
years, the Office of the Ombudsman had not concerned itself yet with the
substantive issue on the presence of probable cause but only on the question of
which office had jurisdiction to handle the complaint,” read the First
Division’s ruling.
“The court is
persuaded that indeed the unjustified delay caused the accused-movant stress,
anxiety and mental anguish and limited his defense. Thus the court is constrained
to decree the dismissal of these cases for violation of the constitutional
right of the accused to speedy disposition of his cases,” it added.
The First Division
also recently ordered the dismissal of graft charges against former
Presidential Commission on Good Government (PCGG) commissioners NarcisoNario,
Tereso Javier and Nicasio Conti, saying the Office of the Ombudsman violated
their right to a speedy trial, too.
It cited the
anti-graft agency’s unexplained failure to resolve the motions for reconsideration
of the three former PCGG officials for more than two years.
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