Court denies motions to quash graft raps vs. ex-DA, ex-BFAR execs

The Regional Trial Court in Cainta, Rizal has denied the motion to quash filed by a former Department of Agriculture and a former Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources director in connection with the graft charges filed against them.

The motions to quash were filed by Ex-DA Undersecretary for Fisheries Eduardo Gongona, former BFAR director Demosthenes Escoto, and co-accused Simon Tucker, CEO of the British company SRT-UK, for the graft charges in connection with the P2.1 billion vessel monitoring system (VMS) contract.

In a six-page court resolution on February 7, the motion to quash was denied for lack of merit, and the arraignment and pre-trial will proceed on February 26.

Gongona and Escoto asked the court to dismiss the charges as the Ombudsman took nearly three to file the case, which is beyond the two-year limit for complex cases under the Office of the Ombudsman (OMB) Administrative Order.

“They [accused] likewise lament that although the case is simple, the OMB office failed to terminate the preliminary investigation and resolve the complaint within 1 year from filing; and even assuming that the case is complex, the OMB still committed inordinate delay as the Informations were filed after 2 years and 9 months,” the resolution read.

However, the RTC said there was no inordinate delay in OMB’s investigation.

“As the case was complex and had voluminous records, the OMB was able to complete the preliminary investigation including the resolutions of the Motion for Reconsiderations of accused-movants within 24 months as provided in OMB AO No. 1 of 2020. Suffice it to say, there is no violation of accused-movants' right to speedy disposition of their cases,” the resolution read.

GMA News Online is trying to get the statements of the accused and will publish them as soon as they are available.

The Ombudsman had denied Escoto’s motion to reconsider the resolution indicting him and two others for violating the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act, as well as the decision finding him guilty of grave misconduct and ordering his dismissal from service.

The Ombudsman's decision on Escoto's case indicated that he while exercising his official function as chairman of the Bids and Awards Committee, “clearly gave unwarranted benefit or advantage” to SRT-UK and its subsidiary SRT-France. –Mariel Celine Serquina/NB, GMA Integrated News