Drilon drafts bill to reform Sandigan handling of graft cases

Senate President Franklin Drilon. INQUIRER FILE PHOTO

MANILA, Philippines—Filing graft cases against officials has not proven to be a deterrent to malfeasance because the anti-graft court is saddled with too many cases and it takes an average of five years to resolve one.

Given such a situation, Senate President Franklin Drilon is proposing an amendment to a martial law era presidential decree to allow one justice, instead of the panel of three, to hear evidence in the Sandiganbayan.

In Senate Bill No. 470, Drilon proposes that “minor cases” be transferred to the regional trial courts to free up the anti-graft court, which is now handling at least 3,000 cases.

“Do you know that a case in Sandiganbayan may take five to six years before it’s decided upon? That’s one of the reasons why filing and trying a case in Sandiganbayan has not been a deterrent,” he said in a radio interview.

To speed up trial, Drilon proposes an amendment to a 1978 Presidential Decree 1606 authorizing individual justices to sit and receive evidence on behalf of the division. The law created the Sandiganbayan.

At present, three justices sit in each of the anti-graft court’s five divisions. They act as trial judges to hear the evidence of the parties.

Over the years, as the government transactions expanded, the anti-graft court has been strained “beyond its limits” and took six to eight years to promulgate cases, said Drilon, a former justice secretary.

“This delay is intolerable if the war against corruption is to be won,” he said in the interview.

Under his bill, according to Drilon, every case should be raffled to a “justice in charge,” who will receive and hear evidence for a division, and report developments in a case to the two other members.

After the case has been submitted for decision, the justice in charge will submit a report on the case to the division. In consultation, the three justices will agree on the conclusion and assign a member to write the decision, he said.

Drilon is also proposing the transfer of “minor cases” to the regional trial courts to free up Sandiganbayan.

Drilon said that half of the pending cases in the anti-graft court are minor cases which could be “heard faster” by the RTCs.

Under the law, the Sandiganbayan has jurisdiction over all graft cases involving public officials occupying Salary Grade 27 and above regardless of the “nature and gravity” of the offense.

“Cases involving minor employees should now be handled by a regional trial court. What’s happening is that even if a case involves a small amount, say P10,000, but the person charged is a high official, it’s still being heard by the Sandiganbayan. That’s why this should be fixed,” he said.

Drilon said the bill should be calendared for debate before Senate adjourns for Lent next month.