Ex-Albay governor cleared of bribery, illegal gambling

MANILA, Philippines — The Sandiganbayan has acquitted former Albay governor Edcel Greco Lagman of charges of indirect bribery and violation of the law against illegal numbers games for lack of evidence.

Lagman was accused of receiving payoffs from jueteng operations and protecting gambling lords when he was vice governor of the province.

The acquittal came after material witnesses in the case recanted their sworn statements, the anti-graft court said.

 Among the witnesses was Alwin Nimo, former village and Sangguniang Kabataan chairman of Barangay Anislag, who alleged that Lagman received P60,000 weekly in exchange for protecting jueteng operations in Albay.

The Sandiganbayan said Nimo’s initial sworn statement could not be used against Lagman despite having been declared as admissible hearsay.

The court said the initial sworn statement could not be used to establish the truth of the allegation of the prosecution. 

The prosecution could not also use the statement to provide context or corroborate the remaining pieces of evidence against Lagman, which included a Toyota Fortuner allegedly used to deliver jueteng payoffs, and 60 bank deposit slips showing transactions in small denominations under Lagman’s name.

“The truth of the matter contained in these independently relevant statements cannot be used to give context or assign corroborative roles to remaining pieces of evidence, thereby leaving the Court with no inference to be derived in determining whether Lagman is guilty of the crimes charged,” the anti-graft court said. 

These pieces of evidence, even when considered along with Lagman’s position as vice governor, “is insufficient to establish his moral certainty of guilt,” the court said.

While agreeing on acquitting Lagman on the charge of acting as protector or coddler of jueteng, Sandiganbayan Third Division chairman Associate Justice Karl Miranda, chair disagreed with the majority’s ruling on indirect bribery.

Miranda said that recantations do not automatically negate the original statements of witnesses.

He said the statements remain admissible and relevant, and must be considered along with other pieces of evidence on record.