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Supreme Court affirms HDOs vs. Gwen Garcia


The Supreme Court has affirmed the issuance of hold departure orders (HDO) against Cebu Representative Gwendolyn Garcia in connection with the allegedly anomalous purchase of a 25-hectare lot in Naga, Cebu when she was governor.

In an October decision obtained Tuesday, the SC's Second Division dismissed the Cebu Third District representative's petition assailing Sandiganbayan orders from 2012 that prevented her from leaving the country.

Garcia's argument that the HDOs were invalid because they were issued before she could exhaust all her legal remedies lacks merit, the SC said in a decision written by Associate Justice Andres Reyes, Jr.

The Sandiganbayan is hearing a graft and technical malversation case against the former Cebu governor, who allegedly allowed the purchase of a 24.92-hectare Balili property in Tiga-an, Naga, Cebu in 2008 for the province's human settlement and seaport project.

A land survey later found that 19.67 hectares of the property was submerged in water and unfit for the intended projects. The Sandiganbayan has recently rejected Garcia's motion seeking the dismissal of the case.

Ruling against the congresswoman, the SC said the function of determining probable cause to charge a person for crimes under the Sandiganabayan's jurisdiction belongs to the Office of the Ombudsman.

"In deference to the independent nature of this office, this Court has almost always adopted, quite aptly, a policy of non-interference in the exercise of the Ombudsman's constitutionally mandated powers," the SC said.

And when the Ombudsman files charges, the Sandiganbayan acquires the authority to control the proceedings until the case is decided, the High Court held.

The SC said the Sandiganbayan did not abuse -- much less gravely -- its discretion by denying Garcia's plea to lift the overseas travel ban orders. "The HDOs were validly issued pursuant to its inherent powers as a court of justice," it ruled. — RSJ, GMA News

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