Ombudsman appeals dismissal of plunder raps vs. Cito Lorenzo, Joc-joc Bolante 

The Office of the Ombudsman has asked the Sandiganbayan to reverse the dismissal of plunder charges against former Agriculture Secretary Luis “Cito” Lorenzo, ex-DA Undersecretary Jocelyn “Joc-joc” Bolante and seven others in connection with the P723-million fertilizer fund scam.

In a 14-page motion for reconsideration, the Office of the Ombudsman, through the Assistant Special Prosecutors assigned to the case, maintained there is probable cause to issue warrants of arrest against all of the accused.

They said the anti-graft court “went beyond its authority” to determine probable cause for the purpose of issuing arrest warrants since the argument it used to justify the dismissal of the criminal case used as threshold of evidence “either prima facie evidence or the quantum of evidence needed to hold an accused accountable or liable, which necessarily means proof beyond reasonable doubt.”

State prosecutors said prima facie evidence, defined as “evidence good and sufficient on its face” is “clearly higher than probable cause” as threshold evidence because it requires proof beyond reasonable doubt.

“In the assailed Issuance, the Honorable Court went beyond the determination of probable cause for the issuance of warrants of arrest, as it made a judicial determination of either prima facie evidence or the evidence that would render an accused accountable or liable, which necessarily revolves on whether the accused is guilty for the crime of plunder, and which, with all due respect, the Sandiganbayan is not allowed to do at this stage of the proceeding,” they said.

State prosecutors said the determination of probable cause is done during the preliminary investigation and is a function of the executive, while the court’s role is tasked to determine probable cause for issuance of an arrest warrant.

Last December, the Sandiganbayan dismissed the plunder case against Lorenzo, Bolante and their co-accused due to the prosecution's failure to provide evidence to prove he committed plunder.

A portion of the court’s ruling read: “After a judicious review of the records, we find as the Justices who formerly composed the Second Division did, that there is no probable cause to hold the accused for trial for the crime of plunder.”

Also cleared in the case were: Assistant Secretary Ibarra Trinidad C. Poliquit and private defendants Jaime Paule, Marilyn Araos, Joselito Flordeliza, Marites Aytona, Jose Barredo and Leonicia Marco-Llarena , the suppliers of the allegedly diluted and overpriced liquid fertilizer.

The P723-million fertilizer scam, allegedly orchestrated by Bolante and several other DA officials, refers to the alleged siphoning of government funds for the 2004 presidential campaign of then-President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo.

The Ombudsman had earlier cleared Mrs. Arroyo of the charges in connection with the scam.

Based on the amended case information sheet, Bolante and seven of his co-accused amassed or accumulated P265,642,930 worth of ill-gotten wealth out of the P723-million fund for the DA’s Farm Input and Farm Implement Program Farm Input and Farm Implement Program (FIFIP).

State prosecutors said probable cause exists to issue warrant of arrest against all of the accused based on the findings of the Ombudsman’s Field Investigation Office Task Force Abono, the audit report of the Commission on Audit and the documents it submitted, and reports filed by the Senate Blue Ribbon Committee. 

As head of DA, they said Lorenzo “through gross neglect, intentional indifference and/or abandonment of duties” permitted Bolante and their co-accused to misuse the multimillion-peso fertilizer funds.

“These findings, as summed up in the Office of the Ombudsman’s Resolution dated 18 March 2011, undeniably show the existence of probable cause to hold the accused for trial for the offense charged against them, and consequently, the existence of probable cause for the issuance of warrants of arrest against all of the accused,” state prosecutors said. 

They said the Sandiganbayan cannot ignore the “glaring badges of fraud and irregularities” committed in the fertilizer fund scam.

“To let the accused run scot free after all the accumulation of evidence and conduct of numerous deliberations will make an injustice to our nation,” state prosecutors said. — RSJ, GMA News