Sandigan denies Binay’s appeal to try 4 graft cases separately

The Sandiganbayan Third Division has denied the appeal of former Makati Mayor Elenita Binay to reraffle off to separate divisions her cases in connection with the anomalous purchase of equipment for the city hospital.

In a 21-page resolution dated March 22, the court said it found no merit in Binay’s motion for reconsideration of its Jan. 13 resolution. It also deemed the appeal “pro forma” for rehashing previous arguments.

The court had denied Binay’s plea for the case reraffle and the inhibition of Presiding Justice Amparo M. Cabotaje-Tang on the ground of bias.

Binay’s camp argued that a joint trial of her four graft and malversation cases concerning two contracts in 2000 and 2001 amounted to prejudgment, making it appear there was a “pattern” of procurement irregularities.

She also claimed that the fact that reporters obtained a copy of the January resolution ahead of her showed she would not be afforded a fair trial.

However, the court disagreed and cited a Jan. 12 memorandum issued by Tang requiring that rulings be uploaded on a website within 24 hours of promulgation for transparency purposes. Rule 135, Section 2 of the Rules of Court opens court records to the public.

Earlier, it affirmed the validity of holding a joint trial, saying the case raffle committee opted to consolidate the cases because they “arose from [an] incident or series of incidents or they involve common questions of fact and/or law.”