The Sandiganbayan has junked the graft case against outgoing Palawan governor Joel Reyes for being defective.
In a seven-page resolution promulgated last May 20, the anti-graft court said the information filed by the Office of the Ombudsman did not sufficiently state the nature of the offense that the respondents — Reyes and provincial mining official Andronico Baguyo — were accused of.
The Ombudsman said Reyes and Baguyo violated Republic Act 3019 or the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act by issuing a mining permit to Olympic Mines and Development Corporation despite its alleged infractions under the Small-Scale Mining Law or RA 7076.
The Sandiganbayan Fifth Division, however, said the allegation was inadequate as it did not mention why Olympic Mines is not qualified or legally entitled to such permit.
“The information is couched in a general phrase and does not specify the provisions of RA No. 7076 violated by Olympic Mines. It will be a denial of the right of the accused to be informed of the charges against him so that he can prepared his defense accordingly," the resolution read.
The Sandiganbayan likewise upheld the defense argument that the case was a “sham" because the person who filed the information, Overall Deputy Ombudsman Orlando C. Casimiro, had no authority to do so. The court noted that Casimiro approved the information on January 28, 2008 as “acting Ombudsman," but the Office Order No. 65 Series of 2008, which was the basis for Casimiro’s authority, was only signed by Ombudsman Merceditas Gutierrez on June 6, 2008. - KBK
