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THE Supreme Court on Friday ordered the Sandiganbayan to proceed
with the trial of Benjamin “Kokoy” Romualdez, the younger
brother of former First Lady Imelda Marcos, for alleged corrupt
practices.
In a 23-page unanimous decision penned by
Associate Justice Arturo Brion, the 15-man High Court en banc
granted the petition filed by government lawyers against Romualdez,
who is being charged for violation of Sec.3 (e) of Republic Act
3019, or the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act.
The case against Romualdez was for dual
compensation, which is prohibited under RA 3019. He was appointed by
his brother-in-law, the late President Ferdinand Marcos, as
Philippine ambassador to various countries while serving as governor
of Leyte, his home province.
Romualdez held both positions from 1976 up to
the end of the Marcos regime in 1986. He served as ambassador to the
United States, China and Saudi Arabia.
In its decision, the High Tribunal annulled the
Sandiganbayan’s resolutions dated June 22, 2004, and November 23,
2004, granting the motion to quash filed by Romualdez and the
Presidential Commission on Good Government’s (PCGG) motion for
reconsideration, respectively.
In setting aside the June 22, 2004, resolution
of the Sandiganbayan, the High Court said the graft court acted
“prematurely” when it held that the supposed damage and
prejudice to the government from Romualdez’ concurrent holding of
posts was without basis.
“We conclude that the Sandiganbayan grossly
and egregiously erred in the considerations it made and in the
conclusions it arrived at when it quashed the information against
Romualdez, to the point of acting outside its jurisdiction through
the grave abuse of its discretion that attended its actions,” the
High Court said.
Romualdez, for his part, claimed the graft court
should dismiss the charges against him since the same do not
constitute an offense.
He pointed out that the 15-year prescription had
lapsed since the preliminary investigation of the case commenced on
in May 2001, after a division of the Sandiganbayan referred the
matter to the Ombudsman.
He argued that there was no interruption of the
prescriptive period for the offense because the proceedings
undertaken under the original 1987 complaint filed by the PCGG were
null and void.
Nonetheless, the High Court also noted how the
two positions of Romualdez, as ambassador and governor, were
incompatible with each other. Likewise, the High Court stated that
whether or not Romualdez can legally receive compensation for his
two incompatible positions are matters of detail that the
prosecution should adduce at the trial, to flesh out the ultimate
facts alleged.
“Correctly understood, it is not the holding
of two concurrent positions or the attendant efficiency in handling
of these positions, but the causing of undue injury to the
government that is at the core,” the High Court stressed.
-- William B. Depasupil
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