The Sandiganbayan has thrown out the graft case against former Mactan Cebu International Airport Authority general manager Adelberto Yap because of the unreasonable delays in the Ombudsman’s investigation.
In a nine-page resolution dated March 5, the court’s Second Division said the Ombudsman took six years to reinvestigate the case when the issue only involved a single transaction involving the purchase of a UHF/FM repeater system worth P161,890.91.
This was computed from Jan. 18, 2008, when the complaint filed by administration manager Rogelio Yaun was provisionally dismissed for lack of probable cause, to Apr. 30, 2014, when the Field Investigation Office initiated another complaint after reexamining the case and gathering evidence.
The court did not give weight to prosecutors’ argument that the fact-finding investigation should not be included in determining whether the accused’s right to the speedy disposition of the case was violated.
The resolution was penned by Associate Justice Lorifel
- Pahimna and concurred in by Associate Justices Oscar C. Herrera Jr. and Michael Frederick L. Musngi.
The case arose from the allegedly unjustified recanvass and direct contracting of the purchase of the repeater system. —VINCE F. NONATO