DOJ questions bail grant to Delfin Lee

MANILA, Philippines — The Department of Justice yesterday questioned the decision of a Pampanga court to allow Globe Asiatique president Delfin Lee to post bail despite the DOJ’s unresolved appeal of the Supreme Court (SC) decision last July that downgraded his cases from syndicated to simple estafa.

Acting prosecutor general Richard Anthony Fadullon, head of the prosecutorial arm of DOJ, said the ruling of Pampanga Regional Trial Court (RTC) Branch 42 last week to grant bail came as a surprise since the SC decision is not yet final and executory.

“It was questioned in the RTC that the issue of bail should not be considered for now as there is a pending (motion for reconsideration) before the SC. It was likewise raised that since there is no finality of judgment and the decision not being immediately executory, the court should defer action on the request for bail by the accused,” Fadullon said in an interview.

The DOJ official confirmed reports that Lee, who was detained at the Pampanga provincial jail since March 6, 2014, was allowed by the RTC to post a bond of P40,000 on Thursday.

“Unfortunately, bail was granted. We are going to discuss the possible options with the private prosecutors and proceed from there,” Fadullon lamented.

It was learned, however, that Lee was not able to immediately post bail because he waited for the documents from the SC.

Fadullon said the DOJ is standing firm in its petition before the SC seeking reversal of a Court of Appeals decision in 2013 that downgraded the cases against Lee from syndicated to simple estafa.

“We believe that it is a syndicated estafa case which is non-bailable, so (Lee) should not be allowed to post bail,” Fadullon explained.