Ex-Intramuros Administration exec to be tried for graft

The Supreme Court has ordered the Sandiganbayan to proceed with the arraignment and trial of a former executive of the Intramuros Administration (IA) for graft.

In a decision penned by Justice Ma. Alicia Austria-Martinez, the Court’s Third Division junked a petition filed by former IA administrator Dominador Ferrer Jr., who asked the Court to annul the July 2, 2003 resolution of the Sandiganbayan’s Second Division that denied his motion for re-determination of probable cause.

The Office of the Ombudsman filed the criminal charges against Ferrer before the Sandiganbayan on Jan. 29, 2001, accusing him of “acting with manifest partiality, evident bad faith and gross inexcusable negligence” in awarding a lease contract within the Intramuros complex to the Offshore Construction and Development Co.

According to the Office of the Ombudsman, the lease – which covered Baluarte de San Andres, Ravellin de Recolletos, and Baluarte de San Francisco de Dilao – was awarded without the conduct of a public bidding.

The Office of the Ombudsman also said Ferrer allowed the construction of new structures in the leased areas of Intramuros without any building permit or clearance.

On May 19, 2003, before he can be arraigned, Ferrer filed a motion with the Sandiganbayan invoking a Feb. 29, 2000 ruling of the Office of the President (OP), which absolved him of administrative liability.

Ferrer insists that the Sandiganbayan should have dismissed the criminal case filed against him since the alleged wrongful acts are the same as those in the administrative case against him.

“The dismissal of an administrative case does not necessarily bar the filing of a criminal prosecution for the same or similar acts which were the subject of the administrative complaint,” the Supreme Court said.     – Mike Frialde