Sandiganbayan blocks sale of beachfront lot in Romualdez suit

Sandiganbayan. INQUIRER FILE PHOTO

MANILA — The Sandiganbayan has nullified with finality the sale of a Batangas beachfront property, ruling it part of the government’s pending forfeiture suit against the late Leyte governor Benjamin Romualdez.

In a four-page resolution, the court’s Fifth Division denied the motion for reconsideration filed by Jaime Cura, the former president of Philippine Journalists, Inc., who staked a claim on the 7,087-square meter property in Mabini town

The court found “no persuasive reason” to overturn its August 9 resolution, saying Cura raised arguments that “are mere rehash and reiterations of the issues… which have already been resolved by this Court.”

It rejected Cura’s claim that the court had no custodia legis over the disputed property because there was no valid writ of sequestration.

In the earlier ruling, the court held that, based on evidence presented by the Presidential Commission on Good Government, the disputed property was already covered by Civil Case No. 0035. The case, filed in 1987, sought the recovery of the alleged ill-gotten wealth of Romualdez, the brother-in-law of late dictator Ferdinand Marcos.

Since the land is already part of a pending forfeiture case, it cannot be transferred or sold unless the court orders so or settles the case itself. SFM