Sandiganbayan throws out Mitra graft case
INQUIRER FILE PHOTO
The Sandiganbayan has thrown out the P3-million graft case against Games and Amusement Board chair Abraham Kahlil Mitra in connection with the fertilizer fund scam, citing prosecution delays that violated his right to speedy proceedings.
The case would no longer head to trial. In an 11-page resolution, the antigraft court’s First Division granted the motion to quash filed by Mitra and four other defendants in the alleged misuse of funds earmarked for farm inputs in 2004.
Prosecutors accused Mitra, who was representative of Palawan’s Second District in 2004, of endorsing GabayMasa Development Foundation Inc. as the partner nongovernment organization to implement the farm inputs project. The funds were released to GabayMasa even as the NGO lacked the qualifications required by Commission on Audit rules. The foundation also failed to submit reportorial requirements.
