Sandiganbayan Fourth Division gets cases on NBN deal

MANILA, Philippines - The strictest among the five different courts of the Sandiganbayan has been tasked to try all graft cases arising from the aborted $329-million national broadband network (NBN) deal of 2007, including the one filed against former President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo more than a month ago.

The Sandiganbayan’s Fifth Division on Wednesday ordered the transfer of the graft case against former National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) director general Romulo Neri to the Fourth Division where former elections chief Benjamin Abalos Sr. is already being tried, also for graft.

In a three-page decision, Fifth Division magistrates led by chairman Roland Jurado with Associate Justices Alexander Gesmundo and Alex Quiroz as members, said consolidating cases arising from the same allegedly anomalous NBN transaction between the Philippine government and China’s ZTE Corp. will result in the faster attainment of justice.

Citing a Supreme Court decision, the Fifth Division ruled that a court may order the consolidation of several cases if the same arises from “the same act, event or transaction, involve the same or like issues and depend largely or substantially on the same evidence.”

“The rule allowing consolidation is designed to avoid multiplicity of suits, to guard against oppression or abuse, to prevent delay, to clear congested docket, and to simplify the work of the trial court,” the decision read.

They said consolidation will result in the “attainment of justice with the least expense and vexation to the parties litigants” because it will contribute to “the swift dispensation of justice and is in accord with the aim of affording the parties a just, speedy and inexpensive determination of their cases before the courts.”

The Fifth Division said they agree with the stand of Deputy Special Prosecutor John Turalba, acting Prosecution Bureau X director Omar Sagadal, and Assistant Special Prosecutors (ASP) III Joefferson Toribio and Kristine Carreon, that transferring the Neri case to the Fourth Division will speed up and simplify the trial.

“This court is not inclined to believe that the consolidation of the instant case... will violate the rights of the accused,” Jurado, Gesmundo, and Quiroz said.

The Sandiganbayan Fourth Division chaired by Associate Justice Gregory Ong is yet to receive a copy of the Fourth Division’s order to consolidate the Neri case with that of Abalos, Arroyo, former first gentleman Jose Miguel Arroyo, and former transportation secretary Leandro Mendoza.

Ong’s court is known to be the strictest among the Sandiganbayan divisions, which even fined Neri P1,000 last year when the latter’s mobile phone rang during a hearing where he was to testify against Abalos.

The graft charges against Neri and Abalos were filed in May 2010 with the former accused of approving the deal as NEDA chief despite knowledge of irregularities, including issues of bribery, and the latter accused of brokering the deal in exchange for commissions and kickbacks.

The cases against the Arroyos and Mendoza were filed only in December 2011 after Ombudsman Conchita Carpio-Morales ordered a review of the anti-graft agency’s earlier findings which found insufficient evidence or grounds to indict them.

Last month, the new cases were raffled to the Fourth Division which later directed the Office of the Ombudsman to resolve the motions for reconsideration of the respondents first.

The Arroyos are accused of having meetings and golf games with ZTE officials while the multi-million dollar deal was still pending final approval.