MANILA, Philippines - The Supreme Court (SC) has deferred ruling on a proposal to have special divisions in the Sandiganbayan exclusively handle pork barrel cases after failing to get all parties concerned to comment on time on the suggestion made by Ombudsman Conchita Carpio-Morales.
The SC was supposed to decide on the proposal yesterday, but only the Sandiganbayan and one of the accused in the case submitted comments within three days from receipt of notice as ordered. Aside from the Sandiganbayan, Sen. Ramon Revilla’s former chief of staff Richard Cambe submitted comments on Morales’ proposal.
Also ordered by the SC last week to comment on the proposal were Senators Revilla, Juan Ponce Enrile and Jinggoy Estrada, as well as the office of the special prosecutor, and the others linked to the pork barrel scam.
“The court has deferred action on the ombudsman’s request for the creation of two special divisions in the Sandiganbayan pending its receipt of the comment from all the other parties,” SC spokesman Theodore Te said in a news briefing.
Te said the high tribunal has not set another deadline for filing of the rest of the comments and only opted to just wait for them.
This means the Sandiganbayan may proceed with its actions on the cases filed before three of its five regular divisions, Te explained.
The Sandiganbayan had voiced opposition to the ombudsman’s proposal last Monday, saying “there is no compelling reason and/or imperative need to create a special division or divisions.”
A majority of the magistrates of the anti-graft court led by Presiding Justice Amparo Cabotaje-Tang stressed that creating special divisions might deprive other pending cases of proper attention. Moreover, creating special divisions to exclusively handle pork barrel scam cases would spawn suspicion that the court is biased against the accused who include prominent opposition figures.
In making the proposal, Carpio cited the “national magnitude” of the cases, as well as the “complexities of the issues involved, the number of accused and the far-reaching consequences of these cases.”
Morales, a retired SC justice, said that based on Article VIII Section 5 of the Constitution, the high tribunal has the power to “promulgate rules concerning pleading, practice, and procedure in all courts.”
She also said the Revised Internal Rules of the Sandiganbayan also allow the creation of a special division “where compelling reasons and the interest of justice so require.”
The last time a special division of the anti-graft court was created was in January 2002 when former President Joseph Estrada was indicted for plunder.
Speedy trial
For Sen. Paolo Benigno Aquino IV, the amount involved in the pork barrel scam leaves no doubt about the need for speedy and fair trial.
He said the revelation of Levito Baligod – the lawyer of some of the pork barrel scam whistle-blowers – that alleged scam mastermind Janet Lim-Napoles had accumulated as much as P15 billion in her bank accounts at one time, should compel authorities to take immediate steps to recover her alleged loot.
“The P2 billion that Janet Lim Napoles wants to return is nothing compared to what she earned from her illegal transactions with the government,” Aquino said.
He noted that the amount stated by Baligod was even more than the P10 billion in Priority Development Assistance Fund (PDAF) believed to have been pocketed by some lawmakers and officials in connivance with Napoles.
“We call on the government to hasten the trial of Napoles so that we can pinpoint and recover the money she pocketed from the government, up to the last centavo,” Aquino said.
Senate Majority Leader Alan Peter Cayetano, for his part, said that the Department of Justice and the National Bureau of Investigation must not be pressured into including allies of the administration in the next batches of cases in the pork barrel scam just because of clamor from some groups.
He cited the case of Technical Education and Skills Development Authority director general Joel Villanueva, who was reportedly part of the third batch of complaints that the DOJ and NBI are set to file before the Office of the Ombudsman.
“The Department of Justice must not allow its investigation to be dictated simply by the clamor of certain groups and individuals to include administration allies in the pork barrel cases. Truth and evidence should be the primary consideration of the investigation,” Cayetano said.
Cayetano also defended Villanueva, citing the latter’s clean track record.
“In the case of Secretary Villanueva, he didn’t meet any of the three criteria as presented by (Justice) Secretary (Leila) De Lima herself. He never put anything in the Napoles (NGO), second there’s no whistleblower pointing to him, and third, the special audit itself said that the project was delivered and was fully audited but it was in the papers that a case will be filed against him,” Cayetano said.
“So now the people are asking, what is the process of the DOJ in determining who will be charged or not? Is it the evidence or is this just about public pressure and criticism? Is Secretary Villanueva just a sacrificial lamb?”
He said the DOJ should follow the evidence and the documents readily available from the COA and DBM “and not be pressured just to save face.”
Special jails ok
Lawmakers from the Ako Bicol party-list group, meanwhile, are pushing for the passage of a bill that seeks to establish a separate detention facility for high-profile personalities.
Reps. Rodel Batocabe and Christopher Co said House Bill 1360, which they authored, is gaining support among members of the House of Representatives.
Batocabe told reporters yesterday that setting up special detention facilities for high-profile individuals is not meant to give them special treatment but rather to ensure their security. With Paolo Romero, Marvin Sy
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