Court affirms raps vs Marine officers over missing P37M allowance

INQUIRER FILE PHOTO

The Sandiganbayan has affirmed the finding of probable cause to try relieved Maj. Gen. Renato Miranda and four former Marines for malversation and graft for the alleged misuse of P36.8 million in public funds supposedly for combat clothing allowance in 1999.

In a 14-page resolution, the anti-graft court Third Division thumbed down the motion of Capt. Felicisimo Millado questioning the validity of the graft and malversation charges through falsification of public documents due to a technicality.

He alleged that the prosecutors failed to include the ranks of the accused in the body of the charge sheet.

He also alleged that the cases should be dismissed for the Ombudsman’s inordinate delay in investigating the case that spanned 13 years, which he said violated his right to a speedy trial.

But the court struck down the motion and affirmed its finding of probable cause against them, adding that the prosecution included the military designations of all the accused in the case title.

The court also said there was no substantiation in Millado’s claim of inordinate delay when he cited the length of time of the Ombudsman’s investigation.

“Other than Millado’s assertion that it took 13 years for the Office of the Ombudsman to file the present cases, there is nothing that substantiates his claim of inordinate delay. The Court…already determined that there is probable cause for the purpose of issuing warrants of arrest against the accused. Thus, the issue is already moot and academic.,” the court said.

The court said the information was sufficient in stating the nature of the alleged crime.

“Dismissing the present cases solely on the basis that the ranks of the accused are not indicated in the bodies, and instead, appear in the captions of the information, will serve no useful purpose but to delay the administration of justice,” the court said.

READ: Former Marine commander faces graft, malversation for missing allowance 

According to the information filed by the Ombudsman, Miranda, Millado, Jeson Cabatbat, Adelo Jandayan and Edmundo Yurong unlawfully misappropriated at least P36.768 million in public funds intended for the payment of combat clothing and individual equipment allowance to active Marine soldiers in 1999.

They were accused of pocketing P36.77 million in cash which was released in 1999 for the combat clothing and equipment allowance of the Marines who were supposed to have received the amount of P14,715.05 each.

The suspects supposedly made it appear in payrolls and other documents that the Marine soldiers received such funds but it never reached the intended beneficiaries.

The officials are set to face trial for graft and malversation charges through alleged falsification of public documents.

Miranda was the former commander of the Marines who was relieved in 2006 on suspicions that members of an elite Marine unit were cooking up a coup plot against former President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo.

The relief of Miranda resulted in a standoff at the Marines headquarters in 2006 led by Col. Ariel Querubin supposedly to protect the officers removed due to the foiled coup. The standoff was also an attempt to defy the state of emergency imposed by Arroyo amid fears of a coup. RAM/rga