IT’S taking too long for us to establish their guilt, so better that we release them from jail.”
This sums up what has been happening in the judiciary for the last several years now. It is pathetic.
Filipinos who have regular access to mass media have their sights focused on entertainment, politics, business and crime. Seldom do they monitor the goings-on in the judiciary, but those who do cannot help but notice that the courts have a new buzzword to justify in dismissing cases: inordinate delay.
Note the following:
* The Sandiganbayan Fifth Division has dismissed four counts of graft filed in 2018 against businesswoman Editha Jacaban for alleged involvement in the anomalous procurement of fertilizer and other farm inputs in 2004 by the Department of Agriculture-Region 1 using public funds. The anti-graft court granted Jacaban’s motion to quash on the ground of inordinate delay, noting the prosecution (Office of the Ombudsman) failed to justify why it took more than five years to file the case in court. Jacaban was named co-accused of the late Ilocos Norte Rep. Roque Ablan Jr., DA Region 1 executive director Reinerio Belarmino Jr., and several others.
‘Who knows if this delay has been planned by wily operators in the first place?’
* In January, the Supreme Court gave credence to the habeas corpus petition of Jessica Lucila “Gigi” Reyes, former chief of staff of former Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile, who was accused of plunder in the multi-billion peso pork barrel scam together with Enrile. In their petition, Reyes’ lawyers cited alleged deprivation of liberty and (inordinate) delay in trial of the plunder case leveled against her in connection with the Priority Development Assistance Fund scam.
* Last year, the High Tribunal dismissed five counts of graft leveled against former Agriculture Secretary Luis Ramon Lorenzo and former National Food Authority administrator Arthur Yap arising from alleged irregular purchases of P46.145 million worth of fertilizers in 2003. The SC upheld the petition of Lorenzo and Yap to dismiss the cases against them for “inordinate delay in the investigation of their cases on the part of the Office of the Ombudsman.” The SC ruled that the Sandiganbayan committed abuse of discretion when it denied the respondents’ motion to quash the charges, citing the prosecutions’ failure to justify the “delay in the termination of the preliminary investigation.” The SC said Sandiganbayan violated the petitioners’ right to speedy disposition of cases.
* Last month, the Supreme Court ordered the Office of the Ombudsman to dismiss graft charges filed against Enrile, now chief presidential legal counsel, and several others in connection with coco levy funds, citing violation of their constitutional right to a speedy disposition of cases. Also covered by the order issued by the high court’s First Division are businessman Jose Concepcion, Rolando dela Cuesta, Narciso Pineda, and Danilo Ursua.
In a 53-page decision promulgated on Jan. 16, the court also ordered the dismissal of the same case against Eduardo Cojuangco Jr., Jose Eleazar, Maria Clara Lobregat, and Augusto Orosa in view of their supervening deaths. However, government may still file a civil action against their respective estates.
The Senate, particularly former Sen. Ramon Magsaysay Jr., expended a lot of effort and time to probe, gather evidence, charge and indict several officials in connection with the P46-billion fertilizer scam but the failure of the Ombudsman and the judiciary to punish the guilty because of “inordinate delay” is pitiful. The same goes for the decades-old effort to recover the coconut levy for the benefit of coconut farmers.
Although the dismissal of cases allowed many respondents to dodge jail time and other sanctions, it is not something to boast about because the dismissals were based on inordinate delay. Who knows if this delay has been planned by wily operators in the first place? It is also an injustice that the respondents were not able to clear their names in the usual judicial proceedings, and so they have to live the rest of their lives under a cloud of doubt.
