Sandigan junks $5.19-M forfeiture case vs Romualdez

The Sandiganbayan has dismissed the $5.19-million forfeiture case that the Office of the Ombudsman filed against the late former ambassador Benjamin “Kokoy” Romualdez and his wife Juliette GomezRomualdez in August 2011.

In a five-page resolution promulgated on June 18, the court’s Fourth Division granted the motion to dismiss the case which the couple filed on Sept. 13, 2011.

Romualdez, the younger brother of former First Lady Imelda Marcos, died of cancer on Feb. 21, 2012.

In its resolution, the court has found merit in Romualdez’s argument that the ombudsman “lacked jurisdiction” in filing the case.

The Fourth Division said Section 15 (11) of Republic Act 6770 or the Ombudsman Act of 1989, clearly states that while the ombudsman has the power to investigate, the authority to file civil forfeiture cases for wealth supposedly illegally amassed prior to Feb. 25, 1986 belongs to the Office of the Solicitor General (OSG).

The resolution was penned by Associate Justice Bayani Jacinto. Associate Justices Alex Quiroz and Reynaldo Cruz concurred with the ruling.

The Fourth Division, however, clarified that the dismissal of the case is “without prejudice to its re-filing” by the OSG.

Filed by the ombudsman on Aug. 17, 2011, the petition sought the forfeiture in favor of the government a total of $5,193,726.37 Swiss bank deposits held in escrow at the Philippine National Bank.

The amount allegedly forms part of the couple’s unexplained wealth during the late Romualdez’s term as governor of Leyte and as ambassador to China, Saudi Arabia and United States.

The petition stemmed from a complaint filed by the Presidential Commission on Good Government before the ombudsman in 2003 after the PCGG found out that Romualdez only had a net worth of P2.348 million in 1983 based on his Statement of Assets, Liabilities and Net Worth.

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