Padaca says lawyers think appearance in arraignment ‘not necessary’

Commissioner Grace Padaca INQUIRER.net FILE PHOTO

MANILA, Philippines – Commission on Elections commissioner Grace Padaca defended her non-appearance in her arraignment for graft and malversation at the Sandiganbayan last week, saying she did so on the advice of her lawyers.

In a statement over Radyo Inquirer 990AM on Tuesday, Padaca denied that she deliberately ignored the arraignments, saying that her lawyers did not find her presence in the arraignment “necessary.”

On Monday, the Sandiganbayan Third Division issued the arrest warrant against Padaca after she allegedly failed to attend the scheduled arraignment, one of several that were set.

She said that she never ignored Sandiganbayan whenever it required her attendance in the arraignment, which was supposed to be over last year.

In an interview with Radyo Inquirer 990 AM, the election commissioner said the Comelec even sent her to Washington to observe the Barack Obama-Mitt Romney presidential elections in 2012.

“And before I could leave the country, I had to ask Sandiganbayan’s permission. They gave it to me, so that [arraignment] was finished,” she said.

On Thursday last week, Padaca said her lawyers told her that they could represent their client before the court.

“That’s why they did not inform me. It was their judgment that my presence was not needed because the hearing was for arraignment. Eh na-arraign na ako last year [I was already arraigned last year],” she justified.

“Unfortunately, the Sandiganbayan misinterpreted my absence,” she said.

In 2006, Padaca was charged with graft for awarding to a nongovernment organization a contract to manage a P25-million credit facility for rice farmers, without public bidding. In her defense, she said bidding was not required for the project and that the government was not damaged by the deal.

In May last year, the Sandiganbayan served the warrant of arrest to Padaca but the former Isabela governor posted P30,000 bail for the graft case and P40,000 for the malversation case.

She admitted that the bail was paid for by President Benigno Aquino III himself because at that time, Padaca was a newly-appointed Comelec commissioner.