SC junks plunder suit vs Aquino, Soliman, Abad

MANILA, Philippines–The Supreme Court on Tuesday junked outright a petition that sought court action to hold President Aquino, Social Welfare Secretary Corazon “Dinky” Soliman and Budget Secretary Florencio Abad liable for alleged anomalies in government.

In an en banc ruling, the high court “dismissed for lack of form and substance” a one-page petition filed by taxpayer Romeo Bayogos against the top government officials, court spokesperson Theodore Te told a press briefing.

The petition had sought “resort to the court to determine the liability of respondents for the crime of plunder” for alleged anomalies surrounding the Conditional Cash Transfer (CCT) Program, the Malampaya Fund and the nullified Priority Development Assistance Fund (PDAF).

But Te said the petition was dismissed because “the court has no jurisdiction to determine the liability of the respondents without a prior appropriate proceeding.”

Under the law, the Sandiganbayan has jurisdiction over graft and corruption cases involving public officials and employees.

Bayogos sought litigation against the President and his Cabinet officials, saying there was “no evidence of cash transfer receipts or concrete proof of expenditures of funds” in the CCT program.