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THE Sandiganbayan Second Division chaired by Justice Edilberto
Sandoval has set May 5 as the arraignment date for former Justice
Secretary Hernando Perez and his co-accused who posted bail before a
Batangas City court after an warrant of arrest was issued against
them.
In a one-page notice, the San-diganbayan ordered
the former justice chief along with his wife Rosario, brother-in-law
Ramon Arceo and business associate Ernest Escaler to appear on May 5
at 1:30 p.m. to face the robbery-extortion charges filed against
them by the Office of the Ombudsman.
Perez and his co-accused were ordered to appear
personally before the Anti-Graft Court and it would be their first
time to appear after being indicted by Ombudsman Maria Merceditas
Navarro-Gutierrez at the Sandiganbayan.
The said notice was issued by Justices Sandoval,
Teresita Diaz-Baldos and Samuel Martires.
The Sandiganbayan First Division, on the other
hand, set the
arraignment against the accused on May 16 for
the graft case filed against them in connection to the $2-million
extortion charge filed by former Manila Rep. Mark Jimenez that
stemmed from the controversial IMPSA power deal.
The other graft case is now pending with the
Fourth Division chaired by Justice Gregory Ong while the
falsification of public documents case went to the Third Division
chaired by Justice Francisco Villaruz.
In the findings of the Ombudsman, it was found
that Perez acted “in conspiracy with Escaler, Arceo” and his
wife, Rosario, “[who] took advantage of his position as the then
DOJ [Department of Justice] Secretary by demanding Jimenez to
deliver the amount of $2 million in connection with the execution of
affidavits to be used against the cronies of former President
[Joseph] Estrada.”
-- Jomar Canlas
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