THE Sandiganbayan Fourth Division has denied the bid of for-mer Lanao del Sur Rep. Faysah Dumarpa to seek outright dis-missal of criminal charges filed against her by the Office of the Ombudsman in 2023 over the alleged mishandling of P6 million from her Priority Development Assistance Fund (PDAF) alloca-tions.
The anti-graft court declared that it found nothing in the de-fendant’s arguments or the records of the case to persuade it about the necessity of granting a demurrer to evidence.
“The Court finds that at this stage in the proceedings, the prose-cution has adduced evidence to support their case and granting the accused leave to file demurrer to evidence will only delay the proceedings,” the Fourth Division said.
Associate Justice Lorifel Pahimna penned the resolution dated February 13, 2025 with concurrences from Associate Justices Michael Frederick Musngi and J. Ermin Ernest Louie R. Mi-guel.
Prosecutors said the lawmaker’s P6 million PDAF was down-loaded to the Technology Resource Center (TRC) before being transferred to the Aaron Foundation Philippines Inc. (AFPI), a non-government organization (NGO).
Dumarpa allegedly handpicked the private foundation to im-plement her PDAF-funded projects in her district even if the NGO had no government accreditation.
She allegedly misrepresented herself as the representative of the First District of Lanao del Norte since the Special Allotment Release Order (SARO) was intended for the district.
Subsequently, the prosecution said the accused affirmed in the Project Final Report that the livelihood projects were “fully im-plemented.”
While the former congresswoman insisted on her innocence, claiming that her signatures on the documents presented by the prosecution were forged, the Sandiganbayan held that her de-fense is best vented during a full trial.
The Sandiganbayan reminded the defendant that she still has the option of filing a demurrer to evidence without leave of court but warned that such a move shall be deemed a waiver of her right to present evidence.
