Sandiganbayan clears Fernando of graft raps

The Sandiganbayan has acquitted Marikina Mayor Bayani Fernando and his city engineer of graft charges filed against them in 1993 by the Prudential Bank.

Aside from Fernando, the Sandiganbayan also found Marikina City Engineer Alfonso Espiritu not guilty of violating Section 3 (e) of Republic Act 3019 or the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act in connection with the revocation of the building permit issued to Prudential Bank in 1993.

Court records showed that on Aug. 20, 1993, Fernando and Espiritu suspended the building permit issued to Prudential Bank for the construction of its branch in Marikina at the corner of Shoe Avenue and Sumulong Highway.

In his complaint, Prudential Bank vice president and head of the branches department Romeo Lorenzo said that Fernando and Espiritu, in issuing the revocation order, failed to state the specific reason which is required under the Building Code, under Section 306 of the Presidential Decree 1096.

Espiritu added that Fernando and Espiritu refused to issue an occupancy permit to the bank despite the fact that the construction of the building had been already completed.

In his 17-page decision, Associate Justice Narciso Nario, Sandiganbayan fourth division chairman, said that the prosecution failed to prove that Fernando and Espiritu acted in bad faith when they issued the revocation of the building permit including the non-issuance of the occupancy permit in view of the fact that the mayor had advised Prudential Bank of the "non- buildable zone" character of the area in question before the construction of the building.