Court of Appeals affirms dismissal of graft case vs ex-DENR chief

MANILA, Philippines - The Court of Appeals (CA) has affirmed its earlier decision upholding the dismissal of a graft complaint against former Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) secretary Heherson Alvarez and several others in connection with a disputed 35,000-hectare forestland in Gen. Nakar, Quezon.

The CA’s First Division dismissed the motion seeking the reversal of its Aug. 31, 2010 ruling that junked the petition for review filed by Joel Sarza, president of the logging firm Pacific Coast Agribusiness Development Corp.

In a four-page resolution penned by Presiding Justice Andres Reyes, the CA reiterated its ruling that it has no jurisdiction to hear and decide Sarza’s petition since the assailed resolution of the Ombudsman is criminal in nature, thus its review “exclusively lies within the power of the Supreme Court.”

Sarza insisted before the CA that the Ombudsman erred in dismissing the graft complaint against Alvarez for lack of probable cause.

Sarza said there is substantial evidence against the respondents to warrant the finding of probable cause for their indictment under Republic Act 3019 or the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act.

The case stemmed from the letter-application dated Sept. 4, 2000 filed by Pacific Coast with the Community Environmental and Natural Resources Office in Real, Quezon for an integrated forest management agreement (IFMA) covering a 35,000-hectare land in Gen. Nakar town.

An IFMA is a production sharing contract entered into by the DENR with a qualified applicant granting the exclusive right to develop, manage, protect and utilize a specified area of forestland and forest resources for a period of 25 years, renewable for another 25 years.

After a lapse of two years, Pacific Coast was asked to submit some supporting documents, which it said it had already submitted.

Despite the DENR’s “first-come, first-serve” policy, Sarza said he was surprised to learn that the IFMA application of Timberland Forest Products Inc. over the same land was approved although it was only filed on July 15, 2002.

On Nov. 12, 2002, the DENR awarded the IFMA to Timberland, prompting Pacific Coast to file a criminal complaint against Alvarez and other DENR officials before the Ombudsman.