Graft court allows Marcos case appeal
The Sandiganbayan Second Division allowed the government to appeal the court’s August 2019 decision junking the P102-billion ill-gotten wealth case against the Marcoses and their cronies. The dismissed forfeiture case accused officials of the Development Bank of the Philippines of extending loans to shipping companies owned by Marcos cronies on orders of Ferdinand and Imelda Marcos.
The Sandiganbayan’s Second Division has allowed the government, through the Office of the Solicitor General, to appeal its August 2019 decision junking the P102-billion ill-gotten wealth case against dictator Ferdinand Marcos, his wife, Imelda, and 11 of their cronies.
In a five-page decision dated Nov. 6 but made public only on Tuesday, the court granted the prosecution’s motion for reconsideration. The prosecution can now appeal the actual dismissal of the forfeiture case.
Earlier denial reversed
The resolution reversed an earlier denial of a similar pleading submitted by the prosecution.
In the September resolution denying the first motion for reconsideration which sought to overturn the dismissal of the forfeiture case, the Sandiganbayan said the prosecution did not indicate a notice of hearing, which was a violation of certain rules.
In its motion for reconsideration, however, the prosecution sought the relaxation of the rules, citing the important nature of the case.
The defense opposed the motion for reconsideration, saying it was a second appeal, which was against court rules.
The Sandiganbayan sided with the prosecution.
“Although the inadvertence of the plaintiff’s counsel is not a compelling or sufficient reason to relax the rule, the court is of the view that the defendant’s right to due process will not be impinged should the court act on the earlier motion,” the resolution said.
The antigraft court said the pleading could not be treated as a second motion for reconsideration since “it does not assail the decision dated Aug. 5, 2019, but seeks the reversal of the resolution dated Sept. 13, 2019.”
The defense has 10 days to comment on or oppose the resolution.
Missing original copies
In August, the Sandiganbayan’s Second Division dismissed a P102-billion forfeiture case filed 32 years ago against the Marcos family and their cronies due to missing original copies of key documentary evidence.
It said the Presidential Commission on Good Government (PCGG), the agency tasked with recovering the Marcoses’ illgotten wealth and the plaintiff in the case failed to prove its allegations that officials of Development Bank of the Philippines, acting on orders of the Marcoses, extended loans to various shipping companies held by their cronies.