The Seventh Division of the Sandiganbayan has denied the latest bid of former Budget undersecretary Mario Relampagos for the outright dismissal of six criminal charges filed against him in 2016 in relation to the Priority Development Assistance Fund (PDAF) or “pork barrel” scam.
In an eight-page Resolution dated March 13, 2023, the anti-graft court affirmed its pronouncements in its assailed February 16, 2023 ruling denying Relampagos’ demurrer to evidence that he has no standing to seek relief while he remains at large and refuses to place himself under the court’s jurisdiction.
“As correctly averred by the prosecution, the accused cannot be rewarded for trifling with court processes. There would be grave inequity if an accused who is not willing to subject himself to the court’s authority is allowed to use the court’s processes and resources only when it is convenient for him,” the Sandiganbayan ruled.
The former budget official was named co-accused in charges of graft and malversation of public funds filed against former Oriental Mindoro Rep. Rodolfo Valencia, officials of Technology and Livelihood Resource Center (TLRC) and National Agri-Business Corp (Nabcor) and businesswoman Janet Napoles.
Prosecutors said Relampagos and other officials of the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) acted with undue haste in approving the release of Valencia’s P7 million PDAF to the TLRC/Nabcor, which led to the transfer of said funds to a bogus NGO linked to Napoles.
In his appeal, Relampagos invoked the January 26, 2023 Resolution of the Sandiganbayan Fourth Division that granted his demurrer to evidence in 11 graft charges also involving PDAF funds, this time from the allocations to former Masbate Rep. Rizalina Seachon-Lanete, totaling P107 million.
According to the Fourth Division, Relampagos is entitled to a dismissal of his cases since he was not even a signatory of the special allotment release orders (SAROs) and notices of cash allocation (NCAs) that paved the way for the release of Lanete’s pork barrel allocations.
The documents showed it was the late former DBM Secretary Rolando Andaya Jr. who signed the SAROs while the NCAs were signed by Director Carmencita Delantar and Andaya.
Lawyers for Relampagos argued that the cases should be dismissed if the court finds the evidence insufficient to support the elements of the crimes as charged regardless if the defendant is a fugitive from justice.
