Sandigan upholds ex-ally as witness vs Elenita
The Sandiganbayan has upheld its ruling allowing former Makati councilor Ernesto Aspillaga to testify on the graft case against Elenita Binay in connection with alleged anomalous purchases in 1999 during her term as Makati mayor.
With a vote of 4-1 on Sept. 29, the court’s Special Fifth Division denied with finality Binay’s motion for reconsideration on the court’s Aug. 3 ruling granting the prosecution’s appeal to discharge Aspillaga as co-accused in the case in order to present him as state witness.
The Aug. 3 resolution reversed the Fifth Division’s Dec. 9, 2016 ruling which originally turned down the prosecution’s bid to utilize Aspillaga as state witness.
The court maintained its earlier position that preventing Aspillaga from testifying “would lamentably be seen as suppressing a vital and material piece of evidence that may have a niche in the prosecution of the case.”
“We cannot yield to accused’s carping that it is a strict application of the rules which should prevail,” the five-page resolution penned by Associate Justice Ma. Theresa Dolores Gomez-Estoesta read.
The other magistrates who voted in favor of Aspillaga’s presentation as witness were Associate Justices Maria Theresa MendozaArcega, Edgardo Caldona and Bayani Jacinto. Associate Justice Geraldine Faith Econg dissented.
Binay, Aspillaga and six others are on trial before the Fifth Division in connection with the alleged anomalous purchase of office partitions and furniture worth P72.06 million in 1999.
The Office of the Ombudsman said the bidding was rigged in favor of Office Gallery International.
In her motion for reconsideration, Binay said under the Rules of Court, a motion must be heard within 10 days from the day of filing but the prosecution violated this rule.
The prosecution team earlier said that Aspillaga has first-hand knowledge of the supposed bid rigging, given his positions as the former head of the city government’s General Services Department and as a former member of the city government’s bids and awards committee.
In his testimony before the Senate in 2014, Aspillaga, a former ally of the Binays, revealed that almost all the public biddings in Makati City during the reign of the Binay family since 1986 were just for show.
The Fifth Division set a hearing on Nov. 29 for the “reception of evidence,” on which Aspillaga intends to testify.