Sandiganbayan dismisses graft case vs. ex-CamSur gov Villafuerte

The Sandiganbayan has dismissed the graft charge against former Camarines Sur Governor Luis Villafuerte Sr. due to the 14-year delay in the filing of the case.

In an 18-page resolution dated July 4, the Fifth Division granted Villafuerte's motion to dismiss and ordered the lifting of the hold departure order against him.

Villafuerte is accused of violating Section 3(e) of the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act in connection with the P5-million disbursement of public funds to Camarines Sur for the purchase of 7,142 bottles of liquid fertilizer from Hexaphil.

However, no Bids and Awards Committee resolution and public bidding were conducted to warrant the contract's awarding to Hexaphil.

Villafuerte had said the prosecution violated his right to a speedy disposition of the case since it took the Office of the Ombudsman more than a decade to file a formal complaint against him at the Sandiganbayan.

The Sandiganbayan agreed, saying the prosecution took 14 years from the time the alleged offense took place in 2004 until Villafuerte was charged in court in 2018.

"The Court finds that the length of time consumed during the Ombudsman's conduct of fact-finding and preliminary investigations in this case is inexorably inordinate, and the claims of the accused-movants herein are well-taken," the Sandiganbayan said in its resolution.

"The sheer number of years alone, figuratively, speaks volumes. It is 'inordinate,' which simply means, it exceeds reasonable limits," it added.

The Sandiganbayan said verifying the lack of a public bidding and the justification for the direct contracting mode of procurement are not complex issues to warrant a decade-long delay on Villafuerte's case.

"Based on what appears to be a thorough fact-finding investigation and the Complaint cum detailed report of the FIO, there were no other material facts or circumstances as to warrant the delay in the preliminary investigation of this case."

Division chairperson Associate Justice Rafael Lagos penned the resolution, with the concurrence of Associate Justices Maria Theresa Mendoza-Arcega and Maryann Corpus-Mañalac.

Villafuerte's son, Camarines Sur Representative Luis Raymund Villafuerte Jr., also faces criminal charges at the Sandiganbayan.

The younger Villafuerte has been charged with graft over the alleged anomalous security service contract he entered into as governor from July 2008 to December 2009 and the alleged illegal procurement of petroleum products worth P5 million from a private company without holding a public bidding in 2010. — BM, GMA News