THE Sandiganbayan has thrown out the latest challenge mounted by dismissed Bureau of Immigration (BI) officers to its jurisdiction over the graft case filed by the Office of the Ombudsman against them in relation to the so-called pastillas scam.
In a resolution issued last Aug. 1, the anti-graft court’s Seventh Division denied the motion for reconsideration filed by Immigration officers Anthony Lopez, Francis Dennis Robles, and Erwin Ortañez, which ascribed error on the part of the court in maintaining jurisdiction over the case.
The three were among 50 BI officials indicted and ordered sacked by the Office of the Ombudsman last June 6 for involvement in the anomalous entry of foreign nationals into the country by bypassing screening procedures.
Prosecutors said the defendants accepted bribes from in-bound aliens, mostly Chinese, who passed through an unofficial immigration “express lane” at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport Terminals 1 and 2.
Reiterating their contention that the case should have gone to a regional trial court, the three movants argued that the highest-ranked accused among them was Immigration officer Marc Red Mariñas, who did not hold the threshold position with a Salary Grade 27 classification.
An SG-27 government personnel would have automatically placed their case within the exclusive jurisdiction of the Sandiganbayan.
Since Mariñas was merely designated in OIC capacity, they said he never occupied the position of Deputy Commissioner, which would have conferred on him a Salary Grade 27.
They said an OIC is a mere caretaker at best, which is distinct from an appointment in an acting capacity.
The Court swept aside the argument as an attempt at creating confusion where there is none.
“It is elementary that under the principles of statutory construction, if a statute is clear, plain, and free from ambiguity, it must be given its literal meaning and applied without attempted interpretation,” the Sandiganbayan declared.
It underscored that the jurisdiction of the Sandiganbayan is clear over public officials whose salary grades are 27 or higher and public officials holding important positions in government regardless of salary classification.
“It is irrelevant that Marinas did not receive compensation equivalent to that of Salary Grade 27. Receipt of compensation is not one of the requisites to confer jurisdiction to this Court. What remains important is the accused’s position and the discharge of functions pertinent thereto,” the court added.
