THE Sandiganbayan Special Sixth Division has denied the Motion for Reconsideration filed by the State seeking the reversal of the anti-graft court’s June 26, 2025 resolution that dismissed the forfeiture case against the assets of late Ambassador Benjamin “Kokoy” Romualdez and his widow, Juliette Gomez Romualdez.
Voting 4-1, the court affirmed that government lawyers violated the constitutional rights of the defendants to the speedy disposition of their cases when the plaintiff Republic of the Philippines failed to pursue the trial despite having filed the case way back in 1988.
Associate Justice Kevin Narce Vivero penned the 10-page resolution affirming the assailed resolution in toto. Associate Justices Lord Villanueva, Arthur Malabaguio, and Juliet Manalo-San Gaspar concurred.
The lone dissent was submitted by Associate Justice and Sixth Division chairperson Sarah Jane Fernandez.
In the assailed resolution, the Sandiganbayan pointed out that the case has been pending in court for the past 38 years.
In its 2014 Performance Report, the Presidential Commission on Good Government PCGG) said it is still seeking recovery and reconveyance of P783.86 million worth of properties of the Romualdez family consisting of shares of stocks in various firms worth P237.88 million and real properties valued at P545.98 million.
The Sandiganbayan held that the government, represented by the PCGG and the Office of the Solicitor General (OSG), had caused inordinate delays that violated the defendants’ rights to speedy disposition of their case.
Government lawyers argued that the years of delay can be attributed to the complexity of the case and the sheer volume of records to be reviewed. At the same time, they said the defendants must also bear part of the blame for such delays.
The Sandiganbayan disagreed.
“The Court stands pat on its resolution. No reversible error warrants either its modification or reversal. Plaintiff cannot deftly wash its hands of the inordinate delay and blame the Defendants too,” it pointed out.
It noted that despite the passage of nearly four decades, Civil Case No. 0035 has never gotten past the pre-trial stage.
“Plaintiff’s utter failure to get past the pre-trial stage for nearly four decades cannot be countenanced. All told, this Court has taken a second, hard look at the points raised in the Plaintiff’s Motion. No compelling reason prompts the Court to modify, much less reverse, its well-studied verdict,” the court added.
