Sandiganbayan presses suspension of Coast Guard commandant tagged in graft case

The Sandiganbayan has ordered the Department of Transportation and Communication to enforce the 90-day preventive suspension it meted on Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) Commandant Rear Adm. Edmund Tan three months ago in connection with a pending graft case.

In a ruling dated Oct. 8, the antigraft court’s 4th Division denied Tan’s motion for reconsideration seeking the recall of the suspension order.

It said that under Section 13 of Republic Act No. 3019 (the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act), the suspension of an accused public official is mandatory and not discretionary upon the court once it has determined that the charges are valid.

A suspension, however, is not a penalty but “merely a preventive measure before final judgment, and for that reason, an accused is still entitled to the presumption of innocence,” the court said.

In denying Tan’s motion for reconsideration, the court said the accused merely offered a rehash of arguments that had already been passed upon and squarely rejected by the court in its earlier resolutions.

Tan was appointed PCG Commander by President Aquino on Jan. 24, 2012.

The case stemmed from a complaint filed by businessman Reynaldo Chua Jr. who accused Tan of causing him undue injury by detaining his shipment of iron ore in 2007 which resulted in his having to pay docking penalties amounting to P500,000.

In his complaint, Chua said Tan detained the LCT Kapitan that was transporting his iron ore cargo on the basis of an injunction order supposedly issued by a court in Iligan because of an ownership dispute over the iron ore cargo.

Tan, who was at the time chief of the PCG Visayas Command based in Zamboanga Sibugay, also raised questions about the ship’s equipment and environment clearances.

The Ombudsman said Tan had “committed the offense in relation to duty and taking advantage thereof, through manifest partiality, evident bad faith, or gross inexcusable negligence, did then and there willfully, unlawfully and criminally caused undue injury to Reynado Chua Jr.” by presenting a fictitious temporary restraining order issued against the iron ore cargo.

Tan denied the accusations of wrongdoing.