OSG asks Sandigan justice to inhibit from Garcia case

MANILA, Philippines - The Office of the Solicitor General (OSG) yesterday filed a motion asking Sandiganbayan presiding justice Edilberto Sandoval to inhibit himself from the plunder case of former military comptroller Carlos Garcia because of conflict of interest.

In the 14-page motion, Solicitor General Jose Anselmo Cadiz and seven other government lawyers said Sandoval’s son, lawyer Rex Reynaldo Sandoval, is working at the Office of the Special Prosecutor (OSP) with rank of Assistant Special Prosecutor 1.

Cadiz said Sandoval’s integrity as a magistrate will be questioned for having first-degree consanguinity with a lawyer of the OSP.

The OSG represents the government in civil and criminal cases on appeal. The OSP, on the other hand, represents the people in cases filed with the Sandiganbayan.

Cadiz said the decision to ask the elder Sandoval to inhibit himself from the case was not reached easily but was considered necessary because the decision on Garcia’s case will have an historical impact on the country. 

“Even the slightest doubt and suspicion as to the deliberative process of the judiciary should not be allowed,” the motion read. “It appears that though no fault of his own, the Honorable Presiding Justice Sandoval has been placed at a crossroad. One path leads to upholding the institution of justice by purging it of any hint of bias and prejudice. The other leads to the erosion of the people’s faith in the very same institution.”

The Sandiganbayan second division has been handling the Garcia plunder case since 2005 with Sandoval, Associate Justice Samuel Martires, and Associate Justice Teresita Diaz-Baldos as magistrates.

Last December, Garcia, originally charged with plunder for allegedly amassing P303 million in unexplained wealth, was allowed to plead guilty to lesser offenses of direct bribery and facilitating money laundering after a plea bargaining agreement which allows the government to recover some P135 million of his ill-gotten assets.      

Lawyers of the OSP said they entered into a deal with Garcia to recover part of his ill-gotten wealth and secure conviction despite the weak case against him filed by former ombudsman Simeon Marcelo and former special prosecutor Dennis Villa-Ignacio six years ago.

Believing the plea bargain deal is disadvantageous to the government, the OSG has filed a motion for intervention seeking to nullify the agreement.

The Sandiganbayan is yet to resolve the motion.

The OSG’s latest move seeking Sandoval’s inhibition from the case is expected to delay the Sandiganbayan ruling determining the validity of the plea bargain agreement.