THE Sandiganbayan has shot down a bid by former Bureau of Customs Commissioner Nicanor Faeldon to seek dismissal of graft charges filed against him by the Office of the Ombudsman four years ago over his alleged involvement in rice smuggling.
The anti-graft court’s Fifth Division, in two separate resolutions released on April 4, 2025, denied motions filed by Faeldon and three of his co-accused seeking leave of court to file demurrers to evidence.
A demurrer to evidence is a challenge to the sufficiency of evidence presented by the prosecution. If granted, it will have the effect of an outright acquittal.
The court said it found no valid argument to grant the defendants’ motions, saying the prosecution’s evidence supported the elements of the charge of violation of the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act (RA 3019)
“The records contain prima facie evidence of the core allegations in both charges. Granting leave will unlikely result in the complete termination of these cases and, therefore, will only unnecessarily stall the proceedings. As such, it is best to let the trial proceed to allow the accuse-movants to present countervailing evidence,” the Sandiganbayan said.
The cases stemmed from a complaint filed by former Sen. Panfilo Lacson linking Faeldon, then the Customs chief, to the alleged smuggling of Vietnamese rice worth P34 million through the Port of Cagayan de Oro in 2017.
Also charged were Customs district collector Tomas Alcid and officials of grains import firm Cebu Lite Trading Inc. (CLTI), corporate officers and board directors Lucio Roger Lim Jr., Ambrosio Ursal and Rowena Lim
Lacson said Faeldon illegally approved the release of the first shipment of 21,800 bags of rice valued at P18.5 million and the second one with 18,200 bags worth P15.5 million, even if they were already seized by customs officers due to the absence of valid import permits and non-payment of customs duties and taxes.
In his motion, Faeldon said the complaint should have been dismissed immediately since Lacson had no personal knowledge of the transactions cited.
He added that the only document linking him to the illegality was an endorsement letter, which, by itself, is insufficient to constitute a crime. Likewise, he questioned the lack of proof of undue injury or that he gave unwarranted benefits to anybody.
The other accused also argued that the evidence of the supposed conspiracy among them and the BOC officers was non-existent and no witnesses disputed the existence of CLTI’s export permits.
But aside from sustaining the prosecution on the sufficiency of its evidence, the Sandiganbayan pointed out that the defendants can still opt to file their demurrer to evidence even without leave of court.
“In sum, Faeldon failed to present compelling reasons to modify or reverse the court’s resolution denying his motion for leave to file a demurrer to evidence,” the court added.
