It's final: Kokoy can no longer face raps for dual pay

MANILA, Philippines - Former ambassador Benjamin “Kokoy” Romualdez was finally cleared of graft charges by the Supreme Court in an 8-4 vote.

Three justices did not take part in deliberations to grant the second motion for reconsideration of Romualdez, younger brother of former first lady Imelda Romualdez-Marcos.

The SC rejected the Presidential Commission on Good Government’s motion to reconsider its ruling last April dismissing the charges.

The Office of the Ombudsman had charged Romualdez with graft for allegedly receiving P5.8 million in “dual compensation” while serving simultaneously as ambassador to China, Saudi Arabia and the United States, and as governor of Leyte between 1976 and 1986.  

In dismissing the charges, the SC said the criminal cases against Romualdez have already prescribed since he was charged before the Sandiganbayan only on Nov. 5, 2001.

“The time span that elapsed from the alleged commission of the offense up to the filing of the cases was clearly beyond the 15-year prescriptive period provided under Section 11 of RA 3019,” read the SC decision.

The SC said the PCGG attempted to file similar cases in 1989, but these had been quashed based on prevailing jurisprudence that information filed by the PCGG are void for lack of authority.

“The rule is that for criminal violations of RA 3019, the prescriptive period is tolled only when the Office of the Ombudsman receives a complaint or otherwise initiates its own investigation,” he said.

“As such preliminary investigation was commenced, the offense had already prescribed as of such time.”

The SC said that the issue of prescription had not previously received serious consideration as the Sandiganbayan had rejected the claim of prescription and quashed the information on a different ground.

“It was on that point which the Court, in its 23 July 2008 decision, understandably focused,” read the SC decision.

Concurring with the majority ruling were Chief Justice Reynato Puno, and Associate Justices Consuelo Ynares-Santiago, Ma. Alicia Austria-Martinez, Renato Corona, Presbitero Velasco Jr., Antonio Eduardo Nachura, and Lucas Bersamin.

Justices Antonio Carpio and Arturo Brion dissented and wrote separate opinions. They were joined by Justices Conchita Carpio-Morales and Minita Chico-Nazario.

Senior Associate Justice Leonardo Quisumbing was on official leave, while Justices Teresita Leonardo-de Castro and Disodado Peralta did not take part in the deliberations.

Last year, the SC had ordered the Sandiganbayan to proceed with the trial of Romualdez in a 23-page decision written by Associate Justice Arturo Brion.

Later, the SC set aside that decision in a ruling written by now retired Associate Justice Dante Tinga.              – Edu Punay