Three divisions of the Sandiganbayan will separately handle the criminal cases filed against resigned congressman Zaldy Co, directors of his Sunwest Corporation, and officials of the Department of Public Works and Highways in Region IV-B (DPWH-IV-B).
Following a special raffle conducted on Wednesday, Nov. 19, for the cases filed by the Office of the Ombudsman (OMB) on Tuesday, Nov. 18, the anti-graft announced that each of the three cases will be assigned to a different division.
The first case, docketed as SB25CRM0039, for violation of Section 3 (e) of Republic Act No 3019, the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act, will be handled by the anti-graft court’s fifth division composed of Associate Justices Zaldy V. Trespeses, Maryann E. Corpus-Manalac and Gener M. Gito.
The second graft case was docketed as SB25CRM0040, with Co as the only accused was for violation of Section 3(h) of RA 3019. It was raffled to the court’s seventh division composed of Associate Justices Lorifel Lacap Pahimna and Georgina D. Hidalgo
The third case, docketed as SB25CRM0041, for violation of Article 171(4) of the Revised Penal Code on malversation of public funds through falsification of public documents was raffled to the court’s sixth division composed of Associate Justices Sarah Jane T. Fernandez, Kevin Narce B. Vivero and Lord A. Villanueva.
Aside from Co, charged in one graft and malversation cases were DPWH Region IV-B Regional Director Gerald A. Pacanan III, Assistant Regional Director Gene Ryan A. Altea, Assistant Regional Director Ruben C. Santos Jr., Project Engineer III Felisardo S. Casuno, Materials Engineer Timojen A. Sacar, and Quality Assurance and Hydrology Division OIC-Chief, Accountant IV Lerma D. Cayco, Planning and Design Division OIC-Chief Montrexis T. Tamayo, Maintenance Division Chief Juliet C. Calvo, and the board of directors of Sunwest Corporation.
With the raffle and the division assignments, the Sandiganbayan can now start determining probable cause which would be the basis for the issuance of arrest orders.
The OMB recommended no bail.
Probable cause in a criminal case is the existence of facts sufficient to lead a reasonable mind to believe that a crime has been committed and that the person charged is probably guilty.
DPWH Secretary Vince Dizon and Oriental Mindoro Gov. Bonz Dolor conducted a probe on the P289.5 million contracted with Sunwest Corporation for the Construction of a Road Dike along the Mag-Asawang Tubig River in Naujan, Oriental Mindoro.
They discovered that the steel sheet piles used for the dike were grossly below the required standards.
The inspection showed there was a total of only three meters constructed, which is far from the 12-meter specification stated in the Detailed Engineering Design. (Czarina Ong Ki)
