Sandiganbayan orders end to Enrile pre-trial proceedings

The Sandiganbayan Third Division on Wednesday officially ordered the termination of the pretrial proceedings in the plunder and graft charges of Senate Minority Leader Juan Ponce Enrile and his co-accused.

The justices said the proceedings had dragged on for too long. 

 

“Justices of this court think that [with the pace the case is going] the very conservative estimate is that the conclusion of the pretrial will be by October by the earliest or December by the latest. The court has decided to terminate preliminary conference and pretrial,” Associate justice Samuel Martires said in open court. 

 

The justices also said the plunder and graft cases of all the accused in the pork barrel scam would be heard jointly.

 

A pre-trial conference is an off-court meeting of the prosecution and defense teams to mark evidence; stipulate facts; raise possible objections to admissibility of evidence; discuss the order of trial; discuss possible plea bargaining deal; and other matters that can expedite the trial proper.

 

Under the law, pre-trial conference is mandatory for all criminal cases being heard at the Sandiganbayan, regional trial courts, metropolitan trial courts and municipal trial courts.

 

In August last year, the Third Division has ordered both panels to finish the pretrial conference in 10 session days or pay fines. But until now, the pretrial conference has yet to be concluded.

 

Thus, the court ordered the prosecution and the defense to submit stipulations of facts, so the pretrial can be terminated by February. 

 

Martires explained that the court wants to speed up the process to heed the clamor of the people for swift justice.

 

“If the case drags on for 10 years, the court ang sinisisi. Di naman nila alam na hindi naman yung court na nagpapatagal. Ang hindi alam ng taong bayan ang nagpapatagal ng kaso eh ang mga abugado, hindi yung courts,” Martires said.

 

The court will then  give the prosecution 15 days to prepare, after which the joint trial proper for plunder and graft will commence. 

 

The court ordered the prosecution to submit a list of documents to be marked, adding that documents not listed will not be presented. The court noted that when the trial starts, the hearings will be held twice a week or the whole day of Fridays, depending on the schedules of the parties. 

 

Meanwhile, in the face of some objections from the lawyers of the accused, Justice Martires also said that the court will proceed with the fast-tracking of the case, if no Temporary Restraining Order is issued by the Supreme Court.

 

“In the absence of a TRO, the court can terminate pretrial and proceed with the trial proper. But the court will not stop the concerned parties from going to the Supreme Court,” Martires said. —NB, GMA News