Plunder Case Against Gloria Arroyo Dismissed
The petition of former President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo to annul the denial of the Sandiganbayan First Division of her demurrer to evidence was granted by the Supreme Court in an 11-4 vote on Tuesday, July 19. A demurrer to evidence is a motion to throw out the prosecution’s case for insufficient evidence.
“Wherefore, the Court… dismisses Criminal Case No. SB-12-CRM-0174 as to the petitioners Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo and Benigno Aguas for insufficiency of evidence; [and] orders the immediate release from detention of said petitioners,” the dispositive portion of the ruling read.
The plunder case was filed against Arroyo after a Senate probe in 2011 on allegations of converting P366 million operational funds of Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office (PCSO) into confidential intelligence funds (CIF) from 2008 to 2010 which was used for election activities. The CIF, by its nature, does not undergo close scrutiny on audit and requires only a certification from the agency head that the sum had been used for the purpose it was intended. The SandiganBayan order her arrest in October 2012 and was detained in the Veterans Memorial Medical Center in Quezon City after being diagnosed with cervical spondylosis, a degenerative disease of the bones and cartilage of the neck. Ms. Arroyo and Benigno B. Aguas, former budget and accounts manager of the PCSO, were the last two defendants in detention for the alleged scam. The Sandiganbayan had granted the demurrers by the other defendants on April 6, 2015; former PCSO directors Manuel L. Morato, Raymundo T. Roquero and Jose R. Taruc, as well as former Commission on Audit (CoA) Chairman Reynaldo A. Villar. Arroyo had petitioned the Supreme Court, through lawyer Estelito Mendoza, to approve her demurrer to evidence after the SandiganBayan dismissed it.
The eleven Justices who voted in favor, eight were appointed by Arroyo and three by former President Benigno S. Aquino:
- Justice Presbitero Velasco Jr
- Justice Teresita de Castro
- Justice Arturo Brion
- Justice Diosdado Peralta
- Justice Lucas Bersamin
- Justice Mariano del Castillo
- Justice Jose Perez
- Justice Jose Mendoza
- Justice Bienvenido Reyes
- Justice Estela Perlas-Bernabe
- Justice Francis Jardeleza
The Justices who dissented were:
- Chief Justice Maria Lourdes Sereno
- Senior Associate Justice Antonio Carpio
- Associate Justices Marvic Leonen
- Justice Benjamin Caguioa
Carpio was appointed by Arroyo.
“It is my fervent hope that nobody else will suffer the persecution that had been levied on me through self-serving interpretation and implementation of the law and that the disregard of truth for which I was made to suffer be dealt with accordingly at the soonest possible time.,” Ms. Arroyo said in a statement.
“Keep the faith in the justice system,” Ms. Arroyo added.
A day after the Supreme Court ruling, Ombudsman Conchita Carpio-Morales in a press conference said, “We were able to present strong evidence consisting of 630-plus documentary exhibits and testimony of so many witnesses which are reflected in 43 transcript of stenographic notes, as well as the records of the case from A to Z consisting of 40-plus folder records of the case. So, to us these are exhaustive records which reflect that the prosecution was able to prove the guilt beyond reasonable doubt of the accused.”
Asked what will be the next move of the Ombudsman, Morales said they will challenge the Supreme Court ruling saying, “… we believe that a motion for reconsideration is warranted, we will certainly file one.” ●