SC junks ex-Pagcor chief’s plea to dismiss graft cases

SUPREME COURT OF THE PHILIPPINES / STOCK

The Supreme Court has denied former Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp. (Pagcor) Chief Efraim Genuino’s plea to dismiss several counts of graft and malversation charges filed against him in relation to the agency’s grant of financial assistance amounting to over P157 million to different entities from 2004 to 2009.

The high court’s Second Division, in a seven-page resolution issued on July 18, 2022, but made public only recently, affirmed the resolutions issued by the Sandiganbayan on July 9, 2021, and September 1, 2021, denying Genuino’s motion for leave to file demurrer to evidence and his subsequent motion for reconsideration.

According to Section 23 of the Revised Rules of Criminal Procedure, a demurrer to evidence is the power of the court to dismiss the case due to lack of sufficient evidence from the prosecution after they rest their case. INQ