Ricketts asks Sandigan to quash graft case, puts blame on deputy

Ronnie Rickets, chair of the Optical Media Board, says his deputy should be liable for the alleged pullout of seized pirated discs in 2010 for which he is facing graft charges. INQUIRER.net PHOTO

Optical Media Board (OMB) Chair Ronnie Ricketts has asked the Sandiganbayan to quash the graft charges against him as he pointed to his deputy who he said should be liable for the alleged pullout of seized pirated discs in 2010.

In a motion filed before the antigraft court’s fourth division, Ricketts, a former actor, said the graft case against him should be dismissed because he was not present during the alleged incident.

Ricketts said according to the graft complaint by Ombudsman prosecutors, security guard Pedro Gazzingan reported that it was Rickett’s coaccused Glenn Perez who supervised the pullout from the OMB office of 121 boxes of DVDs which would have served as evidence against counterfeiters. Perez was a computer operator at the time.

These items, which were seized in Quiapo in May 2010, were supposedly delivered to the OMB office but later in the evening reloaded onto a vehicle owned by Sky High Marketing Corp. even without a gate pass.

Ombudsman prosecutors said Ricketts should be held liable because the seizure of the items prevented the filing of appropriate charges against the supposed counterfeiters.

READ: OMB chair Ronnie Ricketts pleads not guilty to graft

Ricketts pointed out that Gazzingan himself said he reported the incident to OMB Executive Director Cyrus Paul Valenzuela, who did not stop the pullout.

While Perez claimed he was only acting on Ricketts’ instructions, the former actor said this could not be proven because his phone records did not show he called up Perez and that there was no document showing that he ordered the alleged coverup.

“The positive identification of Gazzingan (established) that it was coaccused Perez who pulled out the confiscated goods and that he communicated with coaccused Valenzuela and not with accused Ricketts,” his motion said.

“While accused Perez claims that it was upon the accused’s instruction that they pulled out and loaded the confiscated goods to an (Isuzu) Elf truck allegedly owned by Sky High, such allegation is inadmissible for being bare and self-serving,” it added.

Ricketts also disputed the prosecutors’ findings that he was liable for the absence of incident, output and inventory reports on the seized items which would have paved way for the filing of charges against Sky High, saying the preparation of these was not part of his job.

In its information against the former action star, the Ombudsman said Ricketts should be liable for graft for giving undue preference to Sky High Marketing Corp.

During the raid on May 27, 2010, when the OMB seized 127 boxes and two sacks of pirated DVDs, VCDs and a video recording human IPC, its agents also arrested three Chinese nationals. Marc Jayson Cayabyab/RC

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