Sandigan clears Gwen, 7 others P98 million Balili lot purchase controversy

CEBU, Philippines —  The Sandiganbayan has dismissed the graft charges against Cebu Governor Gwendolyn Garcia and seven others who were accused of corruption in the over P98 million purchase of the Balili estate in Barangay Tinaan, Naga City in 2008.

The anti-graft court granted the demurer to evidence filed by all the accused after the prosecution failed to present strong evidence against them.

A demurrer to evidence is a motion to dismiss on the ground of insufficiency of evidence. It is a remedy available to the defendant after the prosecution rested its case.

In an 81-page decision promulgated on November 26, 2020, Associate Justice Lorifel Lacap Pahimna of the Sandiganbayan Special Division said the prosecution failed to present convincing evidence against Garcia, Juan Bolo, Anthony Sususco, Roy Salubre, Eulogio Pelayre, Emme Gingoyon, Romeo Balili and Amparo Balili.

“It is clear that the prosecution failed to muster the required quantum of evidence. There being no sufficient basis to sustain the indictments, the court is left with no choice but to dismiss the cases,” the court ruled.

The court ordered the return of their respective bail bonds and the hold-departure orders issued against them were lifted.

The charges stemmed from the Capitol purchase of 11 parcels of land with a total area of 249,246 square meters in the amount of P98,926,800 in 2008. The Office of the Ombudsman Visayas alleged that the transaction was grossly disadvantageous to the provincial government, claiming that a considerable portion of the property is underwater.

 The anti-graft body accused the public and private respondents of conniving each other to pull off the alleged anomalous transaction. Thus, criminal charges for violation of Sections 3(e) and 3(g) of Republic Act 3019 or Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act; and Article 220 of the Revised Penal Code were filed.

“While the prosecution was able to present overwhelming documentary evidence to prove the individual participation of each accused concerning the purchase by the Province of Cebu of the Balili properties, the court is not convinced that all accused performed such acts in pursuance or furtherance of the complicity to purchase the Balili properties to the damage and prejudice of the provincial government,” the court ruled.

It added that there was no proof that the accused acted in conspiracy by sampling performing their duties and functions.

“The individual acts of the accused, whilst necessary in consummating the purchase of the Balili properties, are not indicative of intentional participation and common criminal design,” the court decision reads.

The court added that the prosecution’s theory that Sususco, Pelayre, and Salubre, as  members of the Cebu Provincial Appraisal Committee (CPAC), acted with bad faith and manifest partiality when they disregarded material information regarding the physical condition of the property does not hold water.

According to the court, the report of the Technical Working Group (TWG) describing the properties as “seaside and a portion thereof is fishpond” does not automatically lead to a conclusion that the properties are underwater.

The prosecution failed to demonstrate how the presence of water within the Balili properties had rendered the transaction grossly disadvantageous to the government.  It also failed to prove that the properties could not be utilized for the purposes for which they were purchased.

The court also noted the absence of adverse opinion from the Commission on Audit (COA) about the transaction.

“It bears reiterating that the fact that neither the COA nor the Internal Audit Service disallowed the entire transaction weighs in favor of the accused insofar as establishing the regularity of the transaction,” the court stressed.

Although a notice of disallowance from COA is neither a condition to charge the accused before the court nor necessary to prove their liability. — FPL (FREEMAN)