SC affirms dismissal of plunder raps vs Erap, Mike Velarde

The Supreme Court on Thursday affirmed an earlier ruling by the Office of the Ombudsman dismissing the plunder complaint filed against former President Joseph Estrada, El Shaddai leader Bro. Mike Velarde and 17 others in connection with the alleged "overpricing" in the acquisition of several Parañaque properties in 1999. In issuing its decision, the high court in effect dismissed the petition filed by lawyer Ernesto Francisco Jr. seeking the reversal of the December 2001 decision by former Ombudsman Aniano Desierto, who said Estrada's acquisition of nine parcels of land worth P1.22 billion from Velarde was a legitimate transaction. In a 68-page unanimous decision, the high court said the Ombudsman did not abuse its discretion in coming out with its decision. “Absent any finding of grave abuse of discretion on the part of the Ombudsman, the Court held that there is no more reason to weigh all over again the evidence in the case," the ruling, penned by Associate Justice Teresita Leonardo-De Castro, read. De Castro was one of the Sandiganbayan justices who tried and convicted Estrada in 2007 on four separate charges of plunder and perjury for his acceptance of jueteng payoffs, tobacco excise taxes, and proceeds from the sale of shares in Belle Corp. The SC also said it does not normally interfere with the discretion of the Ombudsman to determine whether there exists reasonable ground to believe that a crime has been committed and that the accused is probably guilty of. “This rule is based not only upon respect for the investigatory and prosecutory powers granted by the Constitution to the Office of the Ombudsman but upon practicality as well," the Court said. In his complaint, Francisco alleged that Amvel properties were outrageously overpriced by P828.6 million to the disadvantage of the government. The property had been affected by the C-5 road extension project. Francisco claimed that in 1999, Amvel sold to then President Estrada parcels of underdeveloped and agricultural land at a price higher than their total declared market value. He maintained that the price “should be the equivalent of the zonal value plus 10 percent thereof," based on Administrative Order No. 50, which respondent Estrada issued on February 17, 1999 and was made effective immediately. According to him, since the zonal value of the subject parcels of land was set the year before at P4,500 per square meter, the purchase price should have been P4,950 instead of P15,350, only, for a total purchase price of P394.21 million. Most of the 17 other respondents in the complaint were members of the Estrada Cabinet, including former Public Works Secretary Gregorio Vigilar, former Executive Secretary Ronaldo Zamora, and former Prime Minister Cesar Virata. Desierto and Velarde’s son, Franklin, were also listed as respondents. - GMANews.TV