Joel Reyes seeks dismissal of fertilizer scam case

Joel Reyes. REDEMPTO ANDA/INQUIRER SOUTHERN LUZON

Taking a cue from his coaccused agriculture officials’ successful legal moves, former Palawan Governor Mario Joel Reyes has also sought the dismissal of his fertilizer scam charges on the grounds of investigation delay by the Office of the Ombudsman.

In an eight-page motion to dismiss, Reyes echoed the Sandiganbayan Special Fifth Division’s findings in its March 15 resolution throwing out the case against Department of Agriculture regional technical director Rodolfo Guieb and DA regional executive director Dennis Araullo.

READ: Ex-Palawan Gov. Joel Reyes: No probable cause to sue me for graft

In the said ruling, the court granted a similar motion to dismiss earlier filed by Guieb and adopted by Araullo, agreeing that their constitutional right to speedy disposition of their cases was violated.

It said the Office of the Ombudsman took “even close to twelve years” to bring the case to the antigraft court on Sept. 14 last year, counted from the time fact-finding investigation began in May 24, 2004.

The same resolution also stressed that the Ombudsman caused prejudice to Guieb and Araullo, citing the difficulty of securing witnesses and documents after all the years, as well as their “psychological, financial and emotional burden.”

For Reyes’ part, he claimed that the abovementioned findings should also apply to him and he should be cleared of the charges.

“The same Resolution, its logic and the laws and jurisprudence it relied upon apply, and there is no reason not to apply the same squarely, to Reyes who… is similarly situated with accused Guieb and Araullo,” his motion read.

“If we are to follow the constitutional mandate that all persons or things similarly situated should be treated alike… it is inevitable that the effects of the Resolution dated 15 March 2017 should also be applied favorably to Reyes,” it added.

In the meantime, Reyes sought the deferment of his scheduled arraignment on April 4.

This marks Reyes’ second attempt to have his graft case thrown out before it heads to trial. He first filed a motion for judicial determination of probable cause, also adopted by Araullo, that questioned the basis of his indictment by the Ombudsman.

READ: Prosecutors nix Reyes’ bid to junk fertilizer fund scam case

Reyes had lost in this first round, as the Sandiganbayan First Division, which originally handled the case, affirmed in a Dec. 1 resolution that sufficient evidence exists so far to subject him to trial.

Reyes, Guieb and Araullo, along with Masaganang Ani Para sa Magsasaka Foundation, Inc. (MAMFI) officers Marina Sula and Nathaniel Tan, were accused of misusing a P3.25-million allocation under the Farm Inputs and Farm Implements Program in 2004.

The officials allegedly favored MAMFI to be the project implementor without conducting the necessary public bidding and even if the nongovernment organization was not government-accredited.

The Office of the Ombudsman has continued trying to prosecute dozens of local officials for graft cases arising from the 2004 fertilizer fund scam. But, prosecutors have recently met defeat left and right at the Sandiganbayan as most of the defendants ended up questioning the length of time it took to bring the cases to court. IDL/rga