THE Sandiganbayan has affirmed its April 22, 2024 ruling that barred government prosecutors from presenting evidence in a 23-year graft case against former Bacoor, Cavite mayor Jessie Castillo.
In its resolution promulgated June 5, 2024, the anti-graft court’s Fourth Division denied the motion for reconsideration filed by the prosecution assailing the pronouncement that its right to present evidence is deemed waived “for failure to prosecute.”
In the same Order, the court held that Castillo’s case is now submitted for decision.
The case, filed by the Office of the Ombudsman on September 19, 2000, involved allegations that the defendant allowed the operation of an illegal dumpsite in Molino, Bacoor without the required Environmental Compliance Certificate (ECC) from the Environmental Management Bureau (EMB).
The Sandiganbayan dismissed the case in 2002, citing a defect in the information but the prosecution challenged the dismissal by filing a petition for review on certiorari before the High Court.
There it stayed for 12 years before the SC issued a ruling on September 9, 2015 reversing the Sandiganbayan ruling and ordering a full-blown trial. The said SC ruling became final on April 22, 2016.
However, it was only in 2022 that the prosecution inquired about the status of the case.
Castillo sought the dismissal of the case last year, citing inordinate delay and arguing that the unresolved case has caused him more than 20 years of anxiety even as it restrained his liberty.
The Sandiganbayan, however, denied his motion on the ground that he failed to assert his right to a speedy disposition of his cases earlier.
During a hearing on March 12, 2024, the court warned the prosecution that should it fail to present a witness on the next trial date set for April 22, 2024, it shall be construed as a waiver of the right to adduce evidence.
Prosecutors explained that it needed time to locate its witnesses having lost track of them during the 22 years that the case had been pending with little or no progress.
Even the original complainant, Mary Grace Rosal, executed an affidavit declaring that she was no longer interested in pursuing it.
Castillo said while the case has not moved, the supposed problem dumpsite had been cleared, developed, and is now a residential subdivision.
Invoking the Supreme Court’s ruling in the 2022 case of Camsol v. Sandiganbayan, the court held that a case must be dismissed if the Ombudsman cannot offer a satisfactory justification for delays in the proceedings.
“To overlook the unusually long delay incurred in the handling of the case by the Office of the Ombudsman is equivalent to the impairment of the right of the accused to defend themselves. Thus, there is no cogent reason to grant the prosecution’s motion for reconsideration,” the Sandiganbayan said.