Sandiganbayan junks $5-M forfeiture case vs. Kokoy Romualdez

The Sandiganbayan has dismissed the $5-million forfeiture case that the Ombudsman filed against Benjamin "Kokoy" Romualdez seven years ago.

In a resolution dated June 18, the Fourth Division said the Ombudsman had no authority to seek before the court the forfeiture of the alleged ill-gotten wealth of Romualdez and his wife Juliette.

"There is no doubt that the OMB has the authority to investigate or conduct an investigation akin to a preliminary investigation in forfeiture cases," the Sandiganbayan said.

"However, what is in issue is its authority to file the petition. It bears emphasis that, in the same case, while it was the OMB that conducted the preliminary investigation, it was the OSG which filed the petition," it added.

The Sandiganbayan made no further explanation in its resolution so as not to prejudice the re-filing of the case by the Office of the Solicitor General.

In its petition on August 17, 2011, the Ombudsman sought to forfeit the account of Romualdez with the Union Bank of Geneva in Switzerland which is estimated to be around $5,193,725.37 as of May 31, 2003.

The Ombudsman then said it was impossible for Romualdez to open an account since his income as a former governor of Leyte and former ambassador to China, Saudi Arabia, and the United States is insufficient to meet the initial deposit of $2 million.

Juliette, meanwhile, was only a housewife with no legitimate source of income during the time her husband held government positions during the regime of the late dictator Ferdinand Marcos.

However, the Sandiganbayan ruled in favor of the motion to dismiss of the Romualdez camp, who cited a Supreme Court ruling that stated only the OSG has the power to pursue forfeiture cases allegedly acquired prior to February 25, 1986, which is also the date of the EDSA People Power Revolution that overthrew Marcos.

The Ombudsman was only created on May 12, 1988 under the 1987 Constitution.

"In sum, after conducting its preliminary investigation, the OMB should have referred its resolution to the OSG. As it stands, the present petition should be dismissed for lack of authority of the OMB to file the same," the Sandiganbayan said.