Sandiganbayan junks fertilizer case vs ex-Palawan gov Reyes

MANILA, Philippines – The anti-graft court Sandiganbayan on Monday, May 8, dismissed a graft complaint against Joel Reyes, the former Palawan governor who was accused over alleged anomalies in buying fertilizers worth P23.5 million back in 2004.

The 14-page resolution said the Sandiganbayan upheld the argument that “10 years to investigate a case is simply too lengthy to be reasonable even under the circumstances extant in the case at Bar.”

While the complaint was filed back on June 3, 2004, information against Reyes was only filed on September 14, 2016.  

The court also dismissed arguments over whether the Office of the Special Prosecutor’s fact-finding investigation should be considered part of the investigation. It said, “Whether or not the fact-finding investigation was separate from the preliminary investigation conducted by the Ombudsman should not matter for the purpose of determining whether the right to speedy disposition of cases had been violated.”

Justice Rafael Ragos, chair of the Sandiganbayan Fifth Division, wrote the decision. Justices Maria Theresa Mendoza-Arcega and Reynaldo Cruz concurred.

The Sandiganbayan earlier dismissed the Information against Reyes’ co-accused, former Palawan provincial agriculturist Rodolfo Guieb and former Department of Agriculture Region IV-B Director Dennis Araullo, based on the same grounds.

The Sandiganbayan has recently begun dismissing a number of cases due to similar grounds, namely that prosecutors have taken too long to investigate and file the cases. – Rappler.com