Graft trial vs. ex-Rizal governor Ynares to proceed despite SC plea

The graft trial of former Rizal Governor Casimiro Ynares Jr. over his alleged purchase of overpriced fertilizers will proceed despite his pending plea for a temporary restraining order before the Supreme Court (SC), the Sandiganbayan has said.

A September 28 resolution from the Third Division ruled that it is not bound to suspend the proceedings in the case against Ynares and his co-accused, former assistant department head Romulo Arcilla Jr., due to their petition for certiorari.

"The Court will continue with the proceedings in these cases until their logical conclusion absent any injunctive relief from the Supreme Court," the Sandiganbayan said.

Ynares and his co-accused were charged with two counts each of violation of Section 3(e) and Section 3(g) of RA 3019 or the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act.

They allegedly entered into a contract with Feshan Philippines in November 2004 for the supply of 1,266 bottles of organic fertilizers for the province at a price of P1,500 each without the conduct of a public bidding.

Moreover, the prosecutors said the organic fertilizer was still purchased even though there was another foliar fertilizer brand available with a lower price of P176 per bottle. This resulted in a total overprice of P1.67 million.

The same incident occurred in March 2005, the prosecutors said, when the respondents brought 1,189 bottles of organic fertilizer from the same supplier at P1,500 each.

At the time, there was another brand of foliar fertilizer available priced at only P187 per bottle, resulting again in a total overprice of P1.56 million.

The Sandiganbayan denied Ynares' motion to dismiss the graft charges last year, thus forcing the former governor to raise his case at the SC on June 19, 2018 with the plea for a TRO of a writ of preliminary injunction.

Ynares also said the Sandiganbayan should suspend holding him for trial as "judicial courtesy."

However, the Sandiganbayan said Section 7, Rule 65 of the Rules of Court states that a case's proceedings will continue until the SC issues a TRO. It noted that the high court has yet to rule on their plea four months after it was filed.

The anti-graft court added Ynares failed to explain how his SC plea can affect the continuation of his graft trial.

"Except for their general allegation that the issues before the Supreme Court would be rendered moot and moribund as a result of the continuation of the proceedings in these cases, they have not satisfactorily explained how it would be so," the Sandiganbayan said.

"The fact that the Supreme Court did not issue any injunctive order despite the lapse of a considerable length of time from the filing of the accused-movants' petition evinces the lack of a sound basis for their entitlement thereto. Consequently, their prayer for the suspension of the proceedings must necessarily fail," it added. — BM, GMA News