Prosecution evidence still barred in Bacoor ex-mayor case – Sandiganbayan

MANILA, Philippines – The Sandiganbayan has affirmed its ruling barring government prosecutors from presenting evidence in a 23-year-old graft case against former Bacoor, Cavite mayor Jessie Castillo.

The anti-graft court first made the ruling on April 22. In a resolution promulgated on June 5, the Sandiganbayan’s Fourth Division denied the prosecution’s motion for reconsideration, which said that the pronouncement that its right to present evidence was deemed waived “for failure to prosecute.”

Castillo’s case now awaits decision.

The Office of the Ombudsman first filed the case in September 2000, alleging that Castillo allowed an illegal dumpsite to operate in Molino, Bacoor, without the required Environmental Compliance Certificate (ECC) from the Environmental Management Bureau.

Citing a defect in the information, the Sandiganbayan dismissed the case in 2002. However, the prosecution challenged the dismissal by filing a petition for review on certiorari before the Supreme Court (SC). The case stalled for 12 years.

In September 2015, the SC reversed the Sandiganbayan’s dismissal, and ordered a trial.

While the SC ruling became final on April 22, 2016, the prosecution only inquired about the status of the case six years later, in 2022.

The ex-Bacoor mayor sought dismissal of the case, saying there was inordinate delay that caused him more than two decades of anxiety. The Sandiganbayan denied his appeal for dismissal on the ground he failed to assert his right to a speedy trial earlier.

On March 12, 2024, the Sandiganbayan gave prosecutors a chance to present a witness on the next trial date set April 22. If they failed to present one, their right to adduce evidence was considered waived.

Prosecutors had said that they needed time to locate its witnesses, as the decades of the case being stalled led to losing track of them. The original complainant, Mary Grace Rosal, also declared in an affidavit that she was no longer interested in pursuing the case.

The dumpsite under scrutiny has also been cleared and developed into a residential subdivision, according to Castillo.

“To overlook the unusually long delay incurred in the handling of the case by the Office of the Ombudsman is equivalent to the impairment of the right of the accused to defend themselves. Thus, these is no cogent reason to grant the prosecution’s motion for reconsideration,” the Sandiganbayan said. – Rappler.com