Ombudsman: No undue delay in graft case vs Lapid over fertilizer fund scam

MANILA — What delay?

The Office of the Ombudsman has urged the Sandiganbayan to discard a petition filed by Sen. Lito Lapid seeking the dismissal of a graft case he was facing in relation to his alleged role in the P728-million fertilizer fund scam.

Lapid, who is on his second and last term as senator, has been indicted for graft after he allegedly approved the purchase of liquid fertilizers, which was purportedly overpriced by P4.3 million, when he was still the governor of Pampanga.

The Ombudsman said the amount was part of a multimillion-peso fertilizer distribution project, which was allegedly used to bankroll the campaign of then President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo in the 2004 general elections.

In its 16-page opposition, the state lawyers said Lapid wrongfully concluded that the Ombudsman started handling the case when it conducted a fact-finding investigation in 2006 into the supposed misuse of the public funds intended to help poor farmers.

“The posturing of (Lapid) is vacuous, if not bereft of any merit as to warrant event a scan consideration from the court,” the Ombudsman prosecutors said.

“There is no violation of Senator Lapid’s right to due process and to speedy disposition of his case… It is not fair and proper to say that the Office of the Ombudsman slept on the case,” it added.

It said the preliminary probe on the allegation against Lapid was “conducted within a reasonable period of time considering the voluminous records and number of respondents involved.”

In his Jan. 14 petition, the senator said the delay in his indictment “works to the serious prejudice of Senator Lapid and affects his ability to fully defend himself in court.”  SFM