Sandiganbayan clears Muntinlupa Mayor Biazon of bribery charge

MANILA, Philippines – The Sandiganbayan, the country’s anti-graft court, acquitted Muntinlupa City Mayor Rozzano Rufino “Ruffy” Biazon of a direct bribery charge.

In a 42-page decision released on February 8, the court’s Seventh Division granted Biazon’s petition for demurrer to evidence on the ground of the absence of proof that he allegedly received P1.95 million commission from the Priority Development Assistance Fund (PDAF) allocations. The resolution is dated January 31, 2023 and stemmed from the case filed by the Office of the Ombudsman in 2016.

Since the granting of the petition has the effect of an acquittal, the decision is no longer appealable.

Biazon was tagged in the PDAF scam during his term as the representative of Muntinlupa’s lone legislative district.

In indicting the former lawmaker, the prosecutors alleged that Biazon had received P1.95 million from businesswoman Janet Napoles, who was implicated in the PDAF scam. Prosecutors said the transaction was noted by witness Benhur Luy in the JLN Cash/Check Daily Disbursement Report.

Luy, who was also the prosecution’s witness, said he gave the sum to former Pampanga lawmaker Zenaida Ducut – who was Biazon’s alleged agent at that time. For that, Biazon was indicted for one count each of graft, malversation of public funds, and direct bribery for the allegations that P3 million of his alleged PDAF funds went into Philippine Social Development Foundation Inc. (PSDFI), the bogus nongovernmental organization allegedly founded by Napoles.

“Luy admitted that he has never seen any written authorization letter coming from Biazon in favor of Ducut. Neither has he ever spoken to Biazon to confirm if he really authorized Ducut to transact regarding his PDAF. He has also never heard or seen Napoles personally talk with Biazon,” the Sandiganbayan noted in its decision.

In addition, the prosecution’s witness also admitted that he did not see the money delivered to Biazon. Not only that, an Anti-Money Laundering Council officer testified that although there were alleged suspicious transaction reports involving Biazon, there was none that matched the amount at the time the former lawmaker received the alleged commission money.

Meanwhile, the Muntinlupa mayor is still facing both graft and malversation charges. The court did not grant him leave to challenge the sufficiency of the evidence in the cases. – Rappler.com