Ombudsman tries to save fertilizer fund scam case vs former Palawan governor

Former Palawan Gov. Mario Joel Reyes (File photo from Philippine Daily Inquirer)

State prosecutors have appealed the Sandiganbayan’s dismissal of the fertilizer fund scam case against former Palawan Gov. Mario Joel Reyes on the ground that it took 12 years to bring the case to court.

In a three-page motion, the Office of the Special Prosecutor (OSP) of the Office of the Ombudsman said it would adopt an appeal earlier filed in the similarly dismissed cases of Reyes’s co-accused, both Department of Agriculture officials – Regional Technical Director Rodolfo Guieb and Regional Executive Director Dennis Araullo.

Guieb and Araullo earlier moved for the dismissal of their P3.25-million graft case on Jan. 6. This was granted by the Sandiganbayan Fifth Division on March 15. The OSP filed an appeal on March 22, which remains pending.

Taking a cue from his co-accused, Reyes asked the court to also throw out his case on March 24, which was granted on May 8.

“With accused Reyes being similarly situated with Guieb and Araullo, and having already sufficiently laid down justifications why there was no inordinate delay on the part of the Office of the Ombudsman… the prosecution respectfully adopts its stance, contentions and arguments in its March 22, 2017 Motion for Reconsideration,” the motion read.

The court had faulted the Office of the Ombudsman for taking “close to 12 years” to wrap up investigation on the alleged misuse of P3.25-million allocated to unaccredited Masaganang Ani Para sa Magsasaka Foundation, Inc. (MAMFI) in 2004.

The OSP’s March 22 motion justified the lengthy periods as “more beneficial, rather than prejudicial to the respondents,” because they were given ample chance to refute the charges.

Although the court said the length of time impaired the ability of the defense to gather witnesses and documentary evidence, the OSP reasoned out that this concern “is inevitably shared equally by the prosecution in building the case.”

Reyes earlier lost his first attempt to throw out the case through a motion for judicial determination of probable cause that questioned the basis of his indictment by the Office of the Ombudsman.

The Sandiganbayan First Division, which originally handled the case, affirmed in a Dec. 1, 2016 resolution that sufficient evidence existed so far to subject him to trial.

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.

Besides the fertilizer fund scam issue, Reyes is also facing 36 graft charges at the Sandiganbayan in connection with the alleged misuse of P1.53-billion in royalties from the Malampaya gas field in 2008 and 2009.

He is still detained in Puerto Princesa City pending trial for the 2011 murder of environmentalist and broadcaster Gerardo Ortega. /atm