Prosecutors won't appeal Sandigan ruling on GMA arrest

MANILA, Philippines - Instead of appealing the Sandiganbayan decision not to order the arrest of former President and now Pampanga Rep. Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, government prosecutors are focusing on resol-ving her motion for reconsideration of the Office of the Ombudsman’s Joint Review Resolution.

Arroyo’s lawyers urged the Sandiganbayan to defer the issuance of the warrant of arrest against the former president on the P365.9-million plunder case since they have not received a copy of the review resolution that found probable cause to indict her.

The Sandiganbayan on Friday did not issue the warrant and directed the Office of the Ombudsman to accord the former president the right to appeal her indictment.

In effect, Sandiganbayan’s First Division chairman Efren de la Cruz and Associate Justices Rodolfo Ponferrada and Rafael Lagos denied the prosecution’s motion for the immediate issuance of an arrest order against the former president and her fellow respondents in the P365.9-million plunder charge stemming from the alleged misuse of Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office (PCSO) confidential and intelligence funds.

Office of the Special Prosecutor (OSP) director Diosdado Calonge said the prosecution team still believes that an arrest order should have been issued against Arroyo but opted not to anymore question the anti-graft court’s ruling.

“No more because that is really the right of the accused to appeal or file a motion for reconsideration within five days from receipt of the Ombudsman resolution and for us to resolve it to, in a legal sense, complete the preliminary investigation,” Calonge said.

“In any case, the immediate filing of the Information served us the purpose of the issuance of the hold departure order (HDO), and hopefully the issuance of a warrant of arrest even before the resolution of the motion for reconsideration,” he said.

Calonge is still hoping that the Sandiganbayan will order Arroyo’s arrest soon.

Calonge said it is not accurate to say that an arrest order was junked, citing some reports.

It is because none has been issued yet and the issue of arrest warrants was not even touched in the anti-graft court’s ruling, he said.

Calonge insisted the Sandiganbayan’s own internal rules provide that it should issue an arrest order within 12 calendar days after a complaint is filed “unless it motu propio (own initiative) dismisses the cases for lack of probable cause.”

“By the mere fact that it issued an HDO presupposes that it had determined the existence of probable cause,” he pointed out.