Sandiganbayan upholds dismissal of an ill-gotten wealth case

MANILA, Philippines – The Sandiganbayan, the country’s anti-graft court, affirmed its decision to junk one of the ill-gotten wealth cases involving the late tyrant Ferdinand E. Marcos.

In a resolution dated August 11, but was only made public this week, the anti-graft court upheld its February 21, 2023 decision that dismissed Civil Case No. 0024. The civil case involved Marcos, former assemblyman Peter Sabido, businessmen Luis Yulo and Nicolas Dehesa, and former Development Bank of the Philippines (DBP) executives Rafael Sison and Don Ferry.

“For failure of the plaintiff to convince the Court of the cogency of their position and finding no new matters or persuasive grounds to merit a reconsideration of its earlier Decision, the Court finds no convincing reason to depart from it,” the Sandiganbayan said in a resolution penned by Associate Justice Maria Theresa V. Mendoza-Arcega, with Associate Justice Rafael R. Lagos and Maryann E. Corpus-Mañalac concurring.

In upholding its earlier decision, the court junked the Republic of the Philippines’ motion for reconsideration, which sought the reversal of Sandiganbayan’s decision. The court added there was no sufficient evidence to prove that the properties in the case were ill-gotten or beneficially owned by the late tyrant and his family.

“An examination of the records of the case reveals that the arguments raised by the plaintiff in the present motion are the very same issues already discussed and passed upon by the Court in the assailed decision,” the anti-graft court added.

In the original complaint filed on July 28, 1987, it was alleged that Sabido amassed unexplained wealth by taking over various businesses. It was alleged that he took advantage of his close ties with the late dictator to do this.

Sabido allegedly managed to secure loans from the Government Service Insurance System to fund his takeover of the Lianga Bay Logging Co from DBP for his firm, Phil-Asia Food Industries Corp (PAFICO), according to the Presidential Commission on Government and the Office of the Solicitor General.

Meanwhile, Yulo was accused of acting as a dummy for Marcos. It was alleged that he helped the dictator accumulate ill-gotten wealth through the control of cattle and beef importation.

Through Presidential Decree No. 1297, the state claimed the late tyrant centralized the importation of cattle for the breeding and slaughter under Yulo King Ranch. The order allegedly gave the ranch a “significant advantage in the industry.” – Rappler.com