Abalos' bid to dismiss his P1.7-M graft rap denied anew

MANILA, Philippines — For the fourth time, the anti-graft court  Sandiganbayan has thumbed down the move of former Commission on Elections chairman Benjamin Abalos Sr. to dismiss his graft case in connection with the alleged anomalous purchase of P1.7 million worth of service vehicles in 2003.

In a five-page resolution dated October 25, the court's Sixth Division denied Abalos' motion to dismiss his graft filed early this month.

The denial of Abalos' motion came with a stern warning against his legal counsel "that continued misuse of judicial processes shall be dealt with more severely".

The Sixth Division made the warning as Abalos' camp still filed a motion to dismiss despite the court's earlier denial of his motion to quash the case as well as his two motions for reconsiderations on the motion to quash.

The anti-graft court further noted that Abalos also filed a petition for certiorari before the Supreme Court assailing the Sixth Division's denial of his first motion for reconsideration. The Sixth Division noted that while Abalos withdrew his petition before the Supreme Court on September 4, he subsequently filed a motion to dismiss before the anti-graft court.

The Sixth Division agreed with the prosecution's argument that Abalos' acts can be considered as forum-shopping and is a mere "dilatory tactic".

The court said the argument raised by Abalos in his motion to dismiss was a mere rehash of the very same argument he raised in his motion to quash and his two motions for reconsideration.

"The filing by counsel for the accused of the motion under consideration -- a rehash of the accused's motion to quash which, along with his two Motions for Reconsideration, had all been denied -- appears to be nothing but a dilatory tactic or a misuse of Court processes, in contravention of the Code of Professional Responsibility, and which runs counter to the objective of the rules of securing a just, speedy and inexpensive disposition of every action and proceeding," the court's ruling read.

The resolution was penned by division chairman Associate Justice Sarah Jane Fernandez with the concurrence of Associate Justices Karl Miranda and Bernelito Fernandez.

Filed by the Office of the Ombudsman on Oct. 7, 2016, the graft case against Abalos stemmed from his alleged anomalous purchase of two units of Toyota Revo VX 200 totaling P1.7 million in 2003 during his term as Comelec chairman.

The ombudsman said the purchase was done without public bidding but rather through unauthorized small-value procurement also referred as “shopping”.

Abalos, both in his motion to quash and motion to dismiss, said the case must be dismissed on the ground of the supposed "inordinate delay" of the ombudsman in investigating the complaint against him before filing the case in court.

Abalos said the period of eight years (2008 to 2016) it took the ombudsman to finish its probe was unjustifiable, "capricious and vexatious" and is tantamount to violation of his Constitutional right to speedy disposition of his case.

The Sixth Division, however, had repeatedly maintained that there was no inordinate delay in the ombudsman's investigation of the complaint against the former Comelec chief.

The Sixth Division maintained that the ombudsman investigation only began on Aug. 23, 2013 and not in October 2008 as earlier claimed by Abalos. The court also said that since the start of the investigation in 2013, the ombudsman has been exerting efforts to get Abalos' side and to resolve the complaint.