Sandiganbayan rejects plea to arrest Gloria Arroyo in PCSO plunder case

Published July 27, 2012 5:51pm

(Updated 6:24 p.m.) The Sandiganbayan on Friday stopped all proceedings against former President and now Pampanga Rep. Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo and her co-accused in the plunder case filed by the Office of the Ombudsman. The anti-graft court also overruled the prosecution’s request that the Sandiganbayan order the arrest of Mrs. Arroyo and nine others alleged to have plundered P366 million from the funds of the Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office. In a resolution signed by Associate Justices Efren dela Cruz, Rodolfo Ponferrada and Rafael Lagos, the anti-graft court said the Office of the Ombudsman must first respond to the motion for reconsideration of Arroyo.

The Office of the Ombudsman filed the plunder case last July 16 and the Sandiganbayan subsequently issued a hold departure order against Arroyo, who was released this week from nearly eight months of hospital arrest for a separate electoral sabotage case.

The former President’s co-accused are former PCSO board of directors chair Sergio O. Velancia, former PCSO general manager Rosario C. Uriarte, PCSO budget officer Benigno B. Aguas, and PCSO directors Manuel L. Morato, Jose R. Taruc V, Raymundo T. Roquero, and Ma. Fatima A. S. Valdes.

Also named respondents in the case were former Commission on Audit chair Reynaldo A. Villar and former COA-Intelligence Fund Unit head Nilda B. Plaras.

The Ombudsman charged them with the fraudulent transfer of P366 million in confidential intelligence funds of the Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office from 2008 to 2010, accusing them of allegedly pocketing the money. No premilinary investigation?

During the hearing on Thursday, Prosecutor Diosdado Calonge did not file written objections to the Arroyo camp’s motions for the anti-graft court to defer any arrest order and stop the trial. The respondents claimed they were deprived of full preliminary investigation when the case was filed on July 16, before they received the official copies of the July 10 resolution recommending their indictment.

The former President received her copy only on July 20, 2012, according to her lawyers. She filed her motion for reconsideration with the Ombudsman’s Office within the required five days to reply, they said.

The anti-graft court upheld the Arroyo camp’s argument that the preliminary investigation was incomplete because the case was filed before the respondents received notices about the charges to be filed against them.

“The filing of a motion for consideration is an integral part of the preliminary investigation proper. There is no dispute that the information was filed without first affording accused his right to file a motion for reconsideration,” the Sandiganbayan noted. Their day in court

The Sandiganbayan agreed that respondents should be given their day in court. “… [A]nd considering also that the Information against them had already been filed in court, leave of court should be granted them to afford them the right to a full preliminary investigation,” it added.

The court also ordered the Ombudsman’s Office, through the Office of the Special Prosecutor, to resolve the pending motions for consideration “with dispatch.” The Sandiganbayan declared, “The proceedings in this case are hereby suspended pending resolution of the motion.” Private complainants

The court also ordered all pronouncements by lawyer Lorna Kapunan during Thursday’s hearing be stricken off the record.

Kapunan appeared before the anti-graft court for the private complainants, former Akbayan Rep. Risa Hontiveros-Baraquel and Bureau of Customs Deputy Commissioner Danilo Lim. She asked the court to recognize her as their lawyer, in support of the motion of the Ombudsman for the Sandiganbayan to issue arrest orders against Arroyo and her co-accused.

But the Sandiganbayan said her arguments cannot be included in the case records because “her appearance as private prosecutor is yet to be considered by the court.” — VS/ELR, GMA News

Tags: gloriaarroyo, plunder, sandiganbayan, ombudsman