SC junks some graft cases vs Kokoy

A five-man division of the Supreme Court gave the brother of former First Lady Imelda Marcos a temporary relief yesterday, after it nullified the 24 graft cases the government filed against him in the Sandiganbayan in the late 80s. But the junking of the cases of Benjamin "Kokoy" Romualdez, which arose from his failure to submit his statement of assets and liabilities from 1962 to 1985 didn’t mean the former Philippine Ambassador to Washington is totally scot-free.

A 13-page decision penned by Justice Consuelo Ynares-Santiago ruled that the anti-graft court’s denial of Romualdez’s motion to throw out the charges in June 2000 is "annulled and set aside."

The Sandiganbayan was also rebuked by the SC when it "abruptly terminated" the reinvestigation conducted by Ombudsman special prosecutor Evelyn Lucero, as it reminded the trial court that every accused should be accorded due process.

"The holding of a preliminary investigation was based on our ruling that the right to preliminary investigation is a substantive, rather than a procedural right," a portion of the decision read, which was concurred in by four other magistrates.

Chief Justice Hilario Davide Jr., first division chairman, and Justices Jose Vitug, Santiago Kapunan and Ma. Alicia Austria-Martinez reiterated they had to grant Romualdez’s request because the case had defects. The jurists noted that the graft cases were investigated and eventually filed by the Presidential Commission on Good Government, which was not the proper authority because the suits didn’t involve alleged acquisition of ill-gotten wealth.

"In cases before the Sandiganbayan, the prosecutor is the Ombudsman. As we have held the crimes charged against Romualdez do not relate to alleged ill-gotten wealth over which the PCGG had no jurisdiction," they maintained. The tribunal likewise branded the original suit as "defective" especially since the indictment was made and was subscribed not by the prosecutor, but by the PCGG officials led by Commissioner Augusto Villarin.

"It is the prosecutor, not the PCGG, who subscribes and files the information. The validity and sufficiency of the information are important. An invalid information is no information at all and cannot be the basis for criminal proceedings."

Santiago warned government lawyers that "they are not to turn a blind eye to procedural irregularities which transpired before the criminal case reached the court."

"Criminal due process requires that the accused must be proceeded against the orderly processes of law. The reason for this is to assure that the State makes no mistake in taking the life or liberty except that of the guilty."