Prosecutors ask Sandigan to require Arroyo to file pre-trial brief

Former President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo. INQUIRER FILE PHOTO

MANILA, Philippines–Ombudsman prosecutors have asked the Sandiganbayan Fourth Division to require former President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo to identify the evidence and witnesses she intends to present in her graft cases over her approval of the controversial $329-million national broadband network (NBN) deal with China’s ZTE Corp.

The Office of the Special Prosecutor said Arroyo could not invoke her right to remain silent in the pre-trial stage of her cases.

Arroyo earlier asked the anti-graft to excuse her from filing a pre-trial brief on her NBN-related cases, and from the implications of such an action, including the admissibility of evidence not marked in the pre-trial stage.

A pre-trial brief lists the witnesses and the documentary evidence that the accused intends to present in the course of the trial, as well as the issues to be tackled. Those not included in the brief could not be presented later.

Arroyo, through her lawyers, had said that forcing her to file a pre-trial brief violates her constitutional right to be presumed innocent and remain silent. She said she only has the obligation to present evidence if the prosecution has proven all the elements of the offense charged. She could only make the decision to present evidence or not after the prosecution has finished presenting its case, she added.

But in an opposition filed Wednesday afternoon, the Office of the Special Prosecutor (OSP) asked the Sandiganbayan to deny Arroyo’s motion.

The OSP said the former President’s plea was misplaced because the right to remain silent could only be invoked during custodial investigations and not during pre-trial.

“Thus, considering that the accused is no longer under criminal investigation, she has no more reason to be excused from the filing of the pre-trial brief,” it said.

It also noted that while the court has the discretion to allow an accused not to file a pre-trial brief, the Fourth Division had already ordered the parties to file their briefs earlier. Arroyo must follow the directive, it added.

“Considering that the Court had already directed all the parties to submit their respective pre-trial briefs for more orderly proceedings, the accused Ma. Gloria Macapagal Arroyo must therefore follow the directive of the Court,” it said.

Arroyo’s co-accused in one her graft cases have already filed their respective pre-trial briefs. The co-accused are her husband Jose Miguel Arroyo, former elections chief Benjamin Abalos, and former Transportation and Communication Secretary Leandro Mendoza.

Arroyo was charged with two counts of graft and one count of breach of the code of conduct for public officials for her approval of the NBN deal with ZTE Corp. which the Office of the Ombudsman found to be overpriced and disadvantageous to the government.

The project intended to digitally connect government offices throughout the Philippines.

Arroyo had canceled the deal in 2007 after allegations of bribery and overpricing in connection with the project cropped up.