Court upholds dismissal of state prosecutor behind Garcia plea bargain

The Court of Appeals. FILE PHOTO

MANILA, Philippines–The Court of Appeals has dismissed with finality the appeal by Special Prosecutor Wendell Barreras-Sulit questioning the jurisdiction of Malacanang, which sacked her for entering into a controversial plea bargain with former Armed Forces of the Philippines comptroller Carlos Garcia in 2010.

In a six-page resolution released Wednesday, the appellate court’s Special Former 8th Division affirmed its Aug. 22, 2013, ruling and denied for lack of merit Sulit’s motion for reconsideration.

Sulit earlier sought to annul and set aside the orders issued in July and September 2012 by a panel created by the Office of the President that directed her to reply to an administrative case “for acts and/or omissions constituting graft and corruption and betrayal of public trust” in relation to the plea bargaining agreement.

Jurisdiction questioned 

The court rejected Sulit’s insistence that Malacañang had no jurisdiction to investigate her in 2012 because she was not yet a presidential appointee at the time the plea bargain was entered with Garcia.

“Petitioner’s present position at the time of the charge is Special Prosecutor, making her clearly under the disciplinary power of the Office of the President,” read the decision written by Justice Agnes Reyes Carpio.

The other division members, Justices Ramon Garcia and Priscilla Baltazar-Padilla, concurred with the ruling.

Sulit headed the Office of the Special Prosecutor (OSP), an agency under the Office of Ombdusman that handles cases against high-ranking public officials filed before the Sandiganbayan. She was designated OSP officer in charge in October 2008.

The justices earlier ruled that when Sulit assumed her post as special prosecutor in March 2010, she thereafter had indirect and direct participation in the plea bargain.

Palace probe

The appeals court did not issue a temporary restraining order while the Supreme Court ruled in September 2012 that the investigation was valid. The OP’s probe went ahead, culminating in Sulit’s dismissal from service in July 2013.

“We have pointed out that we cannot legally and technically ask the Executive Branch to observe judicial courtesy but observing the same will not make those involved in administrative proceedings lesser persons, if they, by their own volition, observe the reason for the principle of judicial courtesy–respect of law and legal processes,” the justices said.

The court earlier ruled that once a decision on the merits of a case is rendered and the same has become final and executory, the action on procedural matters or issues becomes moot and academic.

The investigation of Sulit, initiated by Executive Secretary Paquito Ochoa Jr. upon President Aquino’s authority, followed a congressional investigation where it came out that the OSP and Garcia’s camp filed a joint motion for the approval of the plea bargain in March 2010, which the Sandiganbayan approved two months later.