ALL 17 criminal charges filed in 2015 against former Benguet Rep. Samuel Dangwa have been ordered dismissed by the Sandiganbayan Third Division on account of his passing on April 3, 2019 after a lingering sickness.
The deceased lawmaker was previously named defendant in six counts each of graft and of malversation of public funds and five counts of direct bribery all related to allegations he mishandled P42.1 million from his Priority Development Assistance Fund (PDAF) or “pork barrel” allocations in supposed conspiracy with businesswoman Janet Lim Napoles, alleged PDAF scam mastermind..
In an eight-page resolution released last week, the anti-graft court also overruled the Ombudsman’s attempt to secure a freeze order on Dangwa’s bank account with the Philippine National Bank (PNB) on the ground that the lawmaker’s civil liability has necessarily been extinguished by his death since it was based on the same 17 criminal cases.
This despite the prosecution’s argument that the Republic of the Philippines might be left holding an empty bag if the court does not issue a writ of preliminary attachment on Dangwa’s bank deposits.
The court has informed the prosecution that Dangwa’s heirs have asked PNB to release the cash held in Dangwa’s account.
“With the fact of death of accused Dangwa having been established, and its effect on the cases against him, the Court can no longer entertain the motion for the issuance of a writ of attachment filed by the prosecution. Being an ancillary writ, a writ of preliminary attachment has no independent existence apart from a suit on a claim of the plaintiff against the defendant,” the Sandiganbayan said.
However, it pointed out that the Republic is not precluded from filing a separate civil case to seek recovery of Dangwa’s alleged ill-gotten wealth.
