Sandiganbayan denies bids to quash raps vs Andaya, Napoles over Malampaya fund
The Sandiganbayan Third Division has denied the several motions filed by the accused in the Malampaya fund charges against former Department of Budget and Management (DBM) chief and current Camarines Sur Rep. Rolando Andaya Jr. and decided to proceed to trial.
Andaya filed an omnibus motion for bill of particulars and to defer arraignment, while pork barrel mastermind Janet Lim Napoles, her kids James Christopher and Jo Christine Napoles and her nephew Ronald Francisco Lim filed motions to quash.
Their co-accused, former Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR) Secretary Nasser Pangandaman and several others also filed motions to quash and argued that their right to speedy disposition of cases has been violated.
In a 75-page ruling, the Third Division denied all these motions due to lack of merit.
They were slapped slapped with 97 violations of Section 3(e) of RA 3019 or the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act and another 97 violations of Article 217 in relation to Article 171(2) and 48 of the Revised Penal Code due to their involvement in the R900-million Malampaya fund scam from 2009 to 2010.
Andaya prayed in his motion that the prosecution be directed to submit a bill of particulars for each Information against him because the charges are “ambiguous, vague and fail to provide the necessary details required by law, procedure and jurisprudence.”
Meanwhile, Napoles argued in her motion to quash that the facts charged do not constitute an offense. Since she is not a public officer, and absent any proof of conspiracy with a public officer, she cannot be held liable for graft.
Her children and nephew argued the same thing, adding that their names were merely dragged into the controversy since the Office of the Ombudsman failed to show how they conspired with the co-accused.
Despite their pleas, the anti-graft court said in its ruling that there is no merit in their contentions.
“At any rate, the Court holds that the subject Informations need not be amended because they conform substantially to the form prescribed by the Revised Rules of Criminal Procedure and they sufficiently apprise the accused of the cause and nature of the accusations against them,” the resolution read.
As for the claim of Napoles, her kids and her nephew that they should not have been included in the raps because they are private individuals, the court is not swayed.
“Private individuals may be validly indicted for and be held liable for violation of graft and malversation of public funds through falsification of public documents,” the resolution stated. “To be sure, the Informations in these cases specifically allege that they conspired with certain public officers in purportedly committing the aforementioned crimes.”
The anti-graft court added that it is premature for them to dismiss the cases on the ground of the absence of a conspiracy, because it is a “matter of defense and is evidentiary in nature” which would be best threshed out during a full-blown trial.
Pangandaman’s argument of inordinate delay was also brushed aside by the court because of “the number of the respondents involved” and “the complexity of the charges against them.”
“It must again be emphasized that the facts and circumstances peculiar to each case must be closely scrutinized by the court every time it deals with ‘speedy disposition cases,” the court ruled.
The 75-page resolution was penned by Presiding Justice Amparo CabotajeTang with the concurrence of Associate Justices Bernelito Fernandez and Lorifel Pahimna.
The Malampaya fund was allocated by the DBM to the DAR, and it was sourced from the government’s share in royalties and rentals on the oil and gas operations in the Camago-Malampaya reservoir in northern Palawan.
Back in 2009, it was agreed that R900 million from the special fund was to be used to help farmers who were affected by Typhoons Ondoy and Pepeng. However, the funds were somehow diverted to the fake NGOs headed by Napoles.
These NGOs included Abundant Harvest for People’s Foundation, Inc. (AHPFI), Bukirin Tanglaw Foundation, Inc. (BTFI), Dalangpan Sang Amon Utod Kag Kasimanwa Foundation, Inc. (DSAUKKFI), Ginintuang Alay sa Magsasaka Foundation, Inc. (GAMF), Gintong Pangkabuhayan Foundation, Inc. (GPFI), Kaupdan Para Sa Mangunguma Foundation, Inc. (KMFI), Karangayan Para sa Magbubukid Foundation, Inc. (KPMFI), Kasaganahan Para sa Magsasaka Foundation, Inc. (KPSMFI), Micro Agri Business Citizens Initiative Foundation, Inc. (MABCF), Masaganang Buhay Foundation, Inc. (MBFI), Saganang Buhay sa Atin Foundation, Inc. (SBAFI), and Tanglaw Para sa Magsasaka Foundation, Inc. (TPSMFI).
Andaya reportedly approved the DAR’s fund request and signed the Special Allotment Release Order (SARO) and Notice of Cash Allocation requested by Pangandaman even before checking with the DBM’s budget and management bureau.
On the other hand, Napoles was accused of using her NGOs to implement ghost projects. Her children, brother and former bodyguard helped her scam by forging signatures and fabricating documents.