Sandiganbayan clears Aklan governor, wife in SALN case

The Sandiganbayan has acquitted Aklan Governor Florencio Miraflores and his wife, former Ibajay, Aklan mayor Ma. Lourdes Miraflores, over the alleged non-disclosure of  their wealth in their Statements of Assets, Liabilities, and Net Worth (SALN).

In a November 14 resolution, the Special Second Division voted 4-1 in granting the motion of the Miraflores couple seeking to dismiss their charges for violation of the Code of Conduct and Ethical Standards for Public Officials due to inordinate delay.

“A careful review of the records and the timeline of the disposition of these cases shows that these rules of procedure were not complied with by the Office of the Ombudsman,” the Sandiganbayan said.

Florencio allegedly failed to declare his family's cash investments worth P6.16 million in Rural Bank of Ibajay Inc., an Isuzu Elf truck, a Nissan Safari Wagon, a Mazda pick-up, and a Kawasaki motorcycle in his SALN for 2006.

The same investments and properties were also not disclosed in the 2007 SALNs of Florencio and Ma. Lourdes, according to the Office of the Ombudsman.

The couple also supposedly "willfully, unlawfully and criminally" fail to disclose the motorvehicles in their respective SALNs for 2008 and 2009.

However, the couple faulted the Ombudsman for violating their rights to a speedy disposition of case after it took investigators more than three years to conduct its preliminary investigation.

The Sandiganbayan agreed with the Mirafloreses, saying the couple's SALNs were already available a year after its submission but the complaint was only filed at the Ombudsman five to eight years from the time the crime allegedly happened.

The anti-graft court also questioned the one-year delay in the finding of probable cause against the Mirafloreses and another one year to decide on the couple’s motion for reconsideration.

“The passage of time in the conduct of the investigations weakens the defense of the accused. In these cases, the attendant delay has already caused tactical disadvantage in the preparation of the accused’s defense,” the Sandiganbayan said.

Associate Justice Michael Frederick Musngi penned the resolution, with the concurrence of Associate Justices Alex Quiroz, Reynaldo Cruz, and Lorifel Pahimna.

Associate Justice Oscar Herrera is the lone magistrate who dissented in the resolution. —KBK, GMA News