Sandiganbayan to proceed with trial of Gwendolyn Garcia

MANILA, Philippines — Cebu City third district Rep. Gwendolyn Garcia will have to stand trial for graft and malversation in connection with the provincial government’s alleged anomalous purchase of a parcel of land when she was governor in 2008.

In a resolution obtained by reporters yesterday, the Sandiganbayan’s Second Division said Garcia failed to raise any new arguments that would warrant the reversal of its Nov.  19, 2018 resolution denying her motion to dismiss the cases.

“The allegations made... in her motion for reconsideration are mere lengthy reiterations of the arguments she interposed in her previous motions which have been passed upon, discussed and judiciously resolved in the assailed resolution,” the court ruling read.

 Garcia sought the dismissal of the charges filed against her, saying the Office of the Ombudsman violated her constitutional right to speedy resolution of the cases when it took almost three years to finish its investigation before filing the cases in court.

Garcia said she would suffer the “negative consequences” of the inordinate delay of the ombudsman. She said it might take the prosecution 30 years to rest its case.

In an opposition paper, the ombudsman’s prosecution team maintained that the delays in the trial of the cases were caused by Garcia herself.

“The time it took the ombudsman to complete the investigation and the time the plaintiff has prosecuted the instant cases before this court can hardly be considered an unreasonable and arbitrary delay,” the Sandiganbayan ruling penned by Associate Justice Lorifel Pahimna read. 

Garcia is facing technical malversation and two counts of graft over the purchase of a 24.9-hectare property in Tiga-an, Naga, Cebu worth P98.926 million for the provincial government’s housing and seaport projects.

The ombudsman said Garcia conspired with other provincial officials to enter into a contract that was grossly disadvantageous to the government. 

The Department of Environment and Natural Resources said at least 19.67 hectares of the property were found unfit for human settlement and construction of an international seaport because they were submerged in water.