Dimaporo asks Sandigan to reverse ruling denying him bail
FORMER Lanao Del Norte Rep. Abdullah Dimaporo has asked the Sandiganbayan to reverse its ruling denying his bail petition for malversation case over the fertilizer fund scam.
In a motion for reconsideration, the former congressman said the court erred in junking his bail due to strong evidence of guilt because it overlooked jurisprudence allowing provisional liberty in complex crimes in malversation.
Dimaporo said the court erred in its resolution to impose on him the maximum penalty of reclusion perpetua when he is not yet convicted of the crime of malversation and falsification of public documents.
“In determining the penalty imposable, it is the penalty for the most serious crime which is considered. Between malversation and falsification, it is malversation which provides the graver penalty,” his motion said.
“The penalty, however, cannot be immediately applied in its maximum period, or reclusion perpetua, since this will already consider the application of the penalty in the event of a conviction,” it added.
In his motion, Dimaporo cited the dissenting opinion of Associate Justice Samuel Martires where he said, “It is only after the final judgment that the accused is placed in detention to serve the penalty imposed upon him.”
“Prior to final judgment the accused enjoys the right to be presumed innocent and must therefore be allowed to post bail,” Martires added.
Dimaporo also said the Special Second Division, which denied him bail, was not unanimous and was therefore also ambiguous on its decision.
He said the principle of “in dubio pro reo” which states that when in doubt, the court should rule for the accused.
“(T)he fact that that a Special Division of five members of the Court had to be constituted to rule on his (bail motion) is an indication that the original members of this Honorable Court’s Second Division could not arrive at a unanimous decision on said issue,” Dimaporo’s motion said.
“As a matter of fact, even the esteemed members of this Honorable Special Division are not in complete agreement in denying bail to Dimaporo,” it added.
The antigraft court Special Second Division has denied Dimaporo’s Aug. 2013 motion to fix bail for his malversation involving P5 million in public funds.
“No amount of protestations and arguments against the charge … as well as discussion of evidence presented before the Ombudsman… would authorize the fixing of the amount of bail for said accused,” according to the resolution penned by Associate Justice Oscar Herrera.
Associate Justices Herrera, Napoleon Inoturan and Rodolfo Ponferrada dissented on the bail petition, while Associate Justices Samuel Martires and Teresita Diaz-Baldos approved it.
Dimaporo faces malversation of public funds and graft for the alleged purchase and ghost delivery of 10,000 bags of Saka Organic fertilizers worth P5 million under the Farm Inputs and Farm Implement Program of the Department of Agriculture through the Lanao Foundation Inc. (LFI), an NGO formed by the lawmaker in 1994.
Dimaporo was accused of faking the delivery receipts for the fertilizers, the Ombudsman said. No such program was also implemented.
Dimaporo’s alleged bogus fertilizer transaction is said to be part of the several projects under the P728-million fertilizer fund scam orchestrated by Agriculture Undersecretary Joc-Joc Bolante as part of the scheme to divert public funds to the 2004 campaign kitty of former President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo.
