Garchitorena raps government prosecutors

Spending a sleepless night because of your mother’s death is no excuse for coming to court unprepared.

Sandiganbayan Presiding Justice Francis Garchitorena castigated yesterday government prosecutors for being ill-prepared to justify their move to withdraw cases filed against former President Joseph Estrada.

In the preliminary investigation of one case, Garchitorena berated Special Prosecutor Leonardo Tamayo, Deputy Special Prosecutor Robert Kallos and Prosecutor Victorio Tabangil who tried to argue for the withdrawal of the case.

Tamayo explained that he did not have much sleep because his mother had died during the night.

"We are not talking of your sleeping habits," Garchitorena snapped.

Garchitorena chairs the anti-graft court’s first division, which is hearing the charge that Estrada received kickbacks amounting to P130 million from tobacco excise taxes.

Echoing the argument of Ombudsman Aniano Desierto, the three government lawyers said they wanted to withdraw the case "to eliminate wide avenues for delays in the progress of the plunder case."

But when Garchitorena asked the prosecutors to define plunder, the prosecutors simply read off their written manifestation, irritating the magistrate.

Failing to answer Garchitorena’s question, Tamayo said someone from the court was apparently "lawyering" for Estrada, further irritating Garchitorena.

Citing a Supreme Court ruling, Garchitorena stressed that the prosecution has no authority to withdraw cases because once a case is filed, its disposition rests with the court.

Another group of government lawyers fared better in the Sandiganbayan’s third division, chaired by Justice Anacleto Badoy, which is hearing the charge that Estrada violated the code of conduct and ethical standards for government officials.

The third division will also hear the government’s plunder charge and is set to determine if the case has probable cause after it has ruled on preliminary matters. Both the first and third divisions gave government lawyers five days to present their memoranda before ruling on whether to allow the government to withdraw the charges.

In a separate interview, Estrada lawyer Jose Flaminiano dismissed the government’s claim that it wanted to hasten the trial and said it was the government that was employing dilatory tactics.

"The Ombudsman filed the information citing there is probable cause, but a day after Estrada posted his bail and the court acquired jurisdiction, Desierto withdrew it reserving the right to refile the case later," Flaminiano said.

"Their moves are suspicious, if not malicious. As it is, they are the ones who are delaying the proceedings," he added.