Quash raps on double compensation - Kokoy

Former Ambassador to Washington Benjamin Romualdez asked the Sandiganbayan yesterday to dismiss charges of double compensation filed against him by the Presidential Commission on Good Government (PCGG).

In a seven-page motion to quash, Romualdez, through his legal counsel, Jesus Borromeo, questioned the validity and authority of the PCGG in filing the charges docketed under Criminal Case No. 13403.

Romualdez argued that the PCGG cannot act as complainant since it was the one which conducted the preliminary investigation into the charges of double compensation.

"The double compensation case filed against me is beyond the jurisdiction of the PCGG. It is not an ill-gotten wealth case" he said.

Romualdez, younger brother of former First Lady Imelda Marcos, was charged by PCGG Commissioner Augusto Villarin on Feb. 22, 1989 for holding two different government positions, namely as governor of Leyte and ambassador to China, Saudi Arabia and the United States.

Romualdez cited a similar case filed by the PCGG against Eduardo "Danding" Cojuangco Jr., which the Supreme Court dismissed "for lack of jurisdiction."

"The PCGG cannot act as complainant, investigating body...," he quoted the Supreme Court ruling on Cojuangco's case as saying.

In the double compensation case against Romualdez, the PCGG insisted that he "took advantage of his affinity to the late President Ferdinand Marcos to capture two different positions at the same time."