Sandigan affirms denial of Marcos wealth informant's P29.58-B reward plea

The Sandiganbayan has upheld its decision to deny the motion of a male "informant" to receive a P29.58-billion reward for exposing the alleged ill-gotten wealth of the late dictator Ferdinand Marcos, his family and cronies.

"Any judgment, order or resolution issued without jurisdiction is void and cannot be given any effect... The court has no choice but to deny the motion for reconsideration for lack of jurisdiction to act on the same," the Seventh Division said in its May 6 resolution.

The Sandiganbayan had junked the petition for mandamus of Danilo Lihaylihay, who urged the anti-graft court to compel Bureau of Internal Revenue Commissioner Caesar Dulay to pay him P29.58 billion as "informer's reward." 

Lihaylihay has emphasized the Sandiganbayan has jurisdiction over his plea, claiming the Department of Finance already granted his reward claim in 2011.

Lihaylihay said the Sandiganbayan also has power over the Presidential Commission on Good Government on cases pertaining to the Marcoses.

However, the Sandiganbayan said Presidential Decree No. 1606 states the anti-graft court only has jurisdiction over the regional trial courts. It, therefore, cannot direct the BIR to heed the reward request of Lihaylihay.

"We cannot expand said jurisdiction to include the Bureau of Internal Revenue and/or any of its Commissioners. Similarly, the jurisdiction of this Court cannot spill over the DOF insofar as special civil actions like mandamus is concerned," the Sandiganbayan said.

It added Lihaylihay's argument on the PCGG is also misplaced since his plea only mentioned the BIR.

Lihaylihay also lost his petition in 2018 for the Supreme Court to compel the government to pay him a reward of at least P12 trillion, representing his share in the efforts to recover the Marcos wealth.

The SC ruled that Lihaylihay made broad claims in his letter and demanded to almost all of the alleged hidden wealth of the former First Family. —KBK, GMA News