Sandigan jurisdiction over RSBS case upheld

The Supreme Court (SC) upheld yesterday the Sandiganbayan’s jurisdiction to try the graft case filed against officials of the Armed Forces of the Philippines-Retirement and Separation Benefits System (AFP-RSBS).

The case stemmed from the anomalous purchase by the AFP-RSBS of lots in Tanauan, Batangas.

In a seven-page decision penned by Associate Justice Consuelo Ynares-Santiago, the SC’s first division agreed with the Sandiganbayan’s ruling junking the motions filed by Julian Alzaga and Meinrado Enrique Bello, both former vice presidents of the AFP-RSBS, and Manuel Satuito, assistant vice president, seeking to quash the graft charges filed against them by the Office of the Ombudsman.

Alzaga headed the AFP-RSBS’ legal department when one of the lots in Tanauan, Batangas was acquired.

Bello, who succeeded Alzaga, was involved in the acquisition of three other Tanauan lots, while Satuito was documentation chief when the questioned properties were bought.

The SC said the Sandiganbayan was correct and did not commit grave abuse of discretion when it declared that the AFP-RSBS, caretaker of the pension fund of military personnel, was subject to the anti-graft court’s jurisdiction.

"In sum, the Sandiganbayan correctly ruled that the AFP-RSBS is a government-owned and controlled corporation..," it added.