Binay camp hails Sandigan ruling

Makati City Mayor Jejomar Binay’s camp lauded the Sandiganbayan yesterday for its decision to dismiss a graft complaint filed against him by a political rival.

Emmanuel Tamase, Binay’s lawyer, said the swift dismissal of the case proved that there was no basis for the Office of the Ombudsman to lodge the case.

"The Sandiganbayan’s dismissal of the case is a most welcome development. It confirms what we have been arguing all along," Tamase said.

"There was no probable cause to warrant the filing of a case against Mayor Binay and that the Ombudsman’s resolution, instead of dealing with hard evidence, was fraught with wrong legal conclusions."

In a five-page resolution handed down last Monday, the Sandiganbayan’s third division ruled there was no probable cause to prosecute Binay and that the information on which the case was based was "fatally defective."

The decision was penned by Associate Justice Godofredo Legaspi with Associate Justices Efren dela Cruz and Norberto Geraldez concurring.

Binay’s camp had asked the Sandiganbayan to send the complaint back to the Ombudsman because the latter allegedly violated the rules on due process when it refused to hear a motion for reconsideration.

"The information in this case is bereft of facts supporting the allegations of evident in bad faith, manifest partiality or gross inexcusable negligence," Tamase said.