Supreme Court revives DanteTan raps on BW

MANILA, Philippines - The Supreme Court has ruled that businessman Dante Tan must face trial on charges of violating the Revised Securities Code and rejected the Pasig Regional Trial Court’s decision to dismiss the charges on grounds that Tan was denied a speedy trial.

In upholding the Court of Appeals, the SC said delays in the criminal proceedings against Tan were “not capricious, vexatious and oppressive,” and would not suffice as grounds to dismiss the case.

“We emphasize that in determining the right of an accused to speedy trial, courts are required to do more than a mathematical computation of the number of postponements of the scheduled hearings of the case,” read the SC decision.

“A mere mathematical reckoning of the time involved is clearly insufficient, and particular regard must be given to the facts and

circumstances peculiar to each case.”

Ruling from Baguio City, the SC said Tan should not have raised delays in the proceedings, especially since they agreed to conduct separate trials of the case and two other related cases.

“It took prosecution almost two years and eight months to present evidence in the case against Tan because of the implied agreement on the order of trial,” read the SC decision.

Tan’s failure to invoke his right to a speedy trial earlier, along with the length of delay and complexity of the issues, “tolled the death knell” on his claims to his right to a speedy trial, the SC added.

The SC also dismissed Tan’s claim that his right against double jeopardy would be violated if the case is sent back to trial after the court had dismissed the case.

“Double jeopardy does not apply to this case, considering that there is no violation of petitioner’s right to speedy trial,” read the SC decision.

Tan was accused of manipulating the purchase of Best World (BW) Resources Corp. shares in 1999 to earn a P2-billion windfall.

On February 2006, the CA reversed the Pasig court’s order dismissing the complaint against Tan on grounds that he was denied his right to a speedy trial.

In 2004, Pasig Judge Briccio Ygana dismissed the criminal complaint against Tan for alleged violation of Section 27 of the Revised Securities Act.

The crime is punishable by imprisonment ranging from seven to 21 years.

In his decision, Ygana said the government failed to prosecute the case against Tan for more than two years.

Tan, who has reportedly left the country, was the former president of BW Resources Corp.

He and his co-respondents were accused of manipulating the stocks of BW between March to October 1999, which almost caused the collapse of the Philippine Stock Exchange.

The SC decision was written by Associate Justice Minita Chico-Nazario.

Associate Justice Consuelo Ynares- Santiago, division chair, concurred with the decision, along with Associate Justices Conchita

Carpio Morales, Prebisterio Velasco Jr., and Teresita Leonardo-De Castro.

Dumlao ready to return home

Former police senior superintendent Glenn Dumlao is ready to return home, the National Bureau of Investigation said yesterday.

NBI spokesman Ricardo Diaz said Dumlao is ready to be “picked up” in the United States after his wife’s petition for habeas corpus was dismissed by a US court.

“The justice secretary has announced that as far as the petition for habeas corpus filed by another wife of Dumlao, a woman representing herself as the wife of Dumlao, was dismissed by the court already,” he said.

“There is no more reason to hold Dumlao in the United States.”

On the other hand, Diaz said the extradition of former police senior superintendent Cezar Mancao could not be done yet pending the extradition case of former police senior superintendent Michael Ray Aquino, who has summoned Mancao as a witness in his hearing.

“We are just waiting for the hearing of the case of Mancao to end so that the government will save some money on the travel expense,” he said.

“The extradition of the two will be done at the same time. There was a delay in the extradition because of these legal matters.”

Dumlao, Mancao and Aquino are all accused in the Dacer-Corbito double murder case.

Dumlao is currently in the custody of the US Marshal of the Eastern District of New York.

He is detained at the San Bernardino Central Detention Center in Los Angeles. — Edu Punay, Sandy Araneta