What is happening to the prosecution of the pork barrel cases? Watch how Jessica Soho and Joseph Morong break down the details of the dismissal of more graft cases (8 out of 16) — Joseph Morong — live, on coverage, on his feet, on the street with cars whizzing by, fields difficult questions on the disparities between the evidence and the charges from news anchor Jessica Soho …
in last night’s State of the Nation GMA News TV Channel 24/ Channel 11, 8-minute snippet of the news program embedded here non-commercially for academic purposes from http://www.gmanetwork.com/news/video/216585/stateofthenation/sandiganbayan-ibinasura-ang-8-kasong-graft-laban-kina-usec-relampagos-at-staff
The DOJ announced that it would file a plunder complaint based on the so-called P10 billion pork barrel scam exposed by former staff members of Janet Lim-Napoles, against three to five senators, a good number of congressmen, Janet Lim-Napoles, et al.
Since much of news reporting today is in the vernacular (Filipino), i thought i’d set out the following, for accuracy’s sake:
Plunder has been translated as “pandarambong”. Graft and corruption has been translated before as “pangungulimbat”, or if it’s petty or small amounts, “pangungupit”. Although “pangungupit” could also mean qualified theft.
What would be filed today is a complaint for plunder. In Filipino, complaint could be translated into “reklamo” . Or maybe even “demanda”. So, the act of filing could be translated into: “Sasampahan ng reklamo para sa pandarambong … etc”. Some editors translate it into “Kakasuhan ng plunder…etc.”.
i’m no professional linguist, but just based on experience, when you say a case has been filed against Juan Doe, it usually means an Information or formal charge had already been lodged in the Sandiganbayan, which comes only after preliminary investigation.
After the complaint is filed, it goes thru a preliminary investigation. How long does it take before the preliminary investigation is resolved? Because the public has become cynical about the judicial system, here are supposedly the periods provided by the revised rules of criminal procedure:
1) the investigating officer (in this case, the special prosecutor or Ombudsman investigator) has ten days to either dismiss the complaint or find ground to issue a subpoena to the respondents.
2) upon receipt of the subpoena, respondents have ten days to file their counter-affidavits. The counter-affidavit must be sworn to before the investigating officer.
3) if the respondent does not file a counter-affidavit within this ten-day period, the investigating officer shall resolve the complaint based solely on the evidence of the complainant.
(If a respondent has defenses but did not file a counter-affidavit, kawawa naman sya because only the evidence of the complainant was heard, so if you have good defenses, it is better to file a counter-affidavit).
4) within ten days (this is already the third 10-day period), the investigating officer may conduct a hearing in order to propound clarificatory questions of the complainant/ respondents/ witnesses.
5) this hearing by the investigating office shall be terminated within five days.
6) Within ten days, the investigating officer should resolve the preliminary investigation.
(in real life, hwag ka magalit sa akin, prosecutors in ordinary cases are overburdened with hundreds and hundreds of cases on preliminary investigation not to mention having to attend hearings almost on a daily basis, so it takes them a lot more than ten days. Some take 90 days or even a year if there are no follow-ups).
7) After the 10-day period abovestated, the investigating officer has five days to forward the resolution and the records to the Ombudsman or deputy.
8) After the 5-day period above, the Ombudsman has ten days to resolve. If there is a finding of a prima facie case, the Information or formal charge is then filed in court, in this case the Sandiganbayan.
This is the only time you could properly say that a case has been filed. The respondents now become the accused. People of the Philippines versus _______, _______, and John Does. 9)The court has ten days to issue the warrant of arrest, or, if the court is not satisfied that there is a prima facie case, shall ask the prosecutor within five days to submit additional evidence and shall resolve the issue within 30 days.
How many 10-day periods did you count? Six, right? How many 5-day periods? Two, right? So, 70 days, but in real life and in ordinary cases, where investigators and prosecutors are overburdened, it could take a year or even more. However in some cases, where there is great public interest and people are vigilant, the investigators, prosecutors, and the court may proceed promptly.
On Nov. 28, 2000, we, together with more than a hundred lawyers, signed the plunder complaint against then incumbent president Joseph Estrada, et al. The complaint was filed with the Ombudsman the next day. In an interview earlier, then Ombudsman Aniano Desierto said Estrada, being a sitting president, could not be charged, because of “presidential immunity”. We went ahead anyway. Estrada was ousted on January 20, 2001. The plunder complaint with supporting evidence was resolved on April 25, 2001 with the issuance of a warrant of arrest.
Newspeg: “Malacañang is providing security for whistle-blower Rodolfo Lozada Jr. but it cannot assure him of immunity from legal processes, a Palace spokesperson said yesterday.” (Inquirer)
xxx
If you feel betrayed and you feel used and tossed aside, by all means, you should air your grievances. In the meantime however, someone should be taking care of your legal entanglements because these will not go away unless faced. Where an arrest warrant has been issued, and unless it is quashed, it would be served sooner or later unless and until the accused posts bail – in which case, the accused would be saved the anxiety of being accosted or harassed with it. Under the revised/ “new” rules of criminal procedure, the posting of bail does not constitute a waiver of the right to question the legality (or to raise the illegality) of the issuance of the arrest warrant, question the regularity or legality of the proceedings itself, the jurisdiction of the court itself, the lack of or irregularity of the preliminary investigation (see provisions below), as long as these questions are raised before arraignment; in other words, under the new rules of criminal procedure, the posting of bail IS NOT AN ADMISSION OR ACCEPTANCE OF THE LEGALITY OF THE PROCEEDINGS,
And this is expressly stated in the new rules.
You may call for a press con if you want.
(the accused if he has ground can also seek immunity but unless and until this is granted, the arrest warrant would be served.)
(you can also bring your own photos; bring your lawyer; you can choose to go on an ordinary day with no fanfare).
Here they are:
Rule 114. Bail. “Sec. 26. Bail not a bar to objections on illegal arrest, lack of or irregular preliminary investigation.—An application for or admission to bail shall not bar the accused from challenging the validity of his arrest or the legality of the warrant issued therefor, or from assailing the regularity or questioning the absence of a preliminary investigation of the charge against him, provided that he raises them before entering his plea. The court shall resolve the matter as early as practicable but not later than the start of the trial of the case, (new)
While Section 14 provides:
“Sec. 14. Deposit of cash as bail.—The accused or any person acting in his behalf may deposit in cash with the nearest collector of internal revenue or provincial, city, or municipal treasurer the amount of bail fixed by the court, or recommended by the prosecutor who investigated or filed the case. Upon submission of a proper certificate of deposit and a written undertaking showing compliance with the requirements of section 2 of this Rule, the accused shall be discharged from custody. The money deposited shall be considered as bail and applied to the payment of fine and costs while the excess, if any, shall be returned to the accused or to whoever made the deposit. (14a)”
