SC tells Sandiganbayan to pursue Disini case

Ferdinand Marcos AP FILE PHOTO

MANILA, Philippines—The Supreme Court on Monday gave the Sandiganbayan the go-signal to proceed with the criminal case against alleged Marcos crony Herminio Disini.

In a decision made public Monday, the high court’s first division denied for lack of merit the petition filed by Disini questioning the jurisdiction of the Sandiganbayan to prosecute him and if the allegation against him has prescribed.

Under the law, the Sandiganbayan has jurisdiction over criminal and civil cases of public officers and employees including those in government-owned and controlled corporations.

But the high court, in its ruling said even if Disini was a private individual, he can be prosecuted by the anti-graft court since the Presidential Commission on Good Government (PCGG) who filed the case against him was allowed by law “to recover ill-gotten wealth and this covered Marcos’ immediate family, relatives, subordinates, without distinction as to their private or public status.”

In 2004, Disini was slapped with a case for corruption of public officials for pushing for the construction of the mothballed $2.1 billion Bataan nuclear power plant.

Disini was also slapped with a case for violation of the Anti-Graft Law when he allegedly used his connection to former President Ferdinand Marcos to request and receive from the Burns and Roe, contractors of the Philippine Nuclear Power Plant in Bataan, US$17 million for obtaining the construction contract, which, if not for Marcos’ intervention, would have been awarded to someone else.

The high court added that the case could still be pursued because it has not yet prescribed.