Ex-mayor’s bid to dismiss graft raps opposed

The Sandiganbayan has been urged to affirm its ruling against former Iligan City mayor Lawrence Cruz and 11 other respondents in connection with an allegedly anomalous land deal that the accused entered into with a company supposedly owned by his family.

In an opposition paper dated Nov. 29, the Office of the Ombudsman said the anti-graft court should dismiss Cruz’s petition to reverse the ruling finding probable cause to try him and his co-accused for graft.

The prosecution said Cruz’s motion failed to present new arguments other than those he had raised in an earlier motion to quash the cases, which the court denied.

It said the respondents’ argument that the cases must be dismissed for supposed violation of their constitutional right to speedy trial was baseless.

In their motion for reconsideration, Cruz and the respondents said the two years and 11 months that the ombudsman spent in the investigation of the cases was unjustifiable.

But the ombudsman said the amount of time they spent on the cases did not violate the repondents’ rights to speedy trial.

The prosecutors cited a Supreme Court ruling acknowledging the need for time to resolve pending cases, as there are numerous complaints reaching the Office of the Ombudsman.

They said the respondents failed to prove that the alleged unreasonable delay caused them sufferings and inconvenience.

Cruz is facing four counts of graft filed by the ombudsman in February.

The cases stemmed from a contract that the city government entered into with a private company for the lease of seven parcels of land in Barangay Tubod, Iligan City.

The property was used for the city’s public transport terminal.

Anti-graft probers said the officials and stockholders of the company were reportedly related to Cruz.