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Friday, March 29, 2024

Sandiganbayan denies leave of court plea of Ampatuan

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The Sandiganbayan has denied the plea of former Maguindanao Gov. Datu Sajid Ampatuan for a leave of court and may be in danger of getting convicted outright in the case involving his alleged anomalous purchase of petroleum products in 2009 should he file a demurrer to evidence.

In a resolution dated Oct. 17, the anti-graft court’s Fifth Division said the motion for leave to file a demurrer to evidence of Ampatuan was denied because it would only delay the proceedings of the case.

This means that Ampatuan can still file his demurrer, a motion seeking an outright dismissal of a case due to weak evidence, and he will be considered as having waived his right to submit rebuttal evidence, and thus the court will decide on the case solely on the basis of the evidence submitted by the Ombudsman.

“Given the sufficiency of the testimonial and documentary evidence to sustain the indictments against the accused, it is incumbent upon the accused to adduce evidence in his behalf to refute the allegations of the prosecution,” the Sandiganbayan said.

The Ombudsman earlier filed falsification of public documents and violation of Section 3(e) of the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act charges against Ampatuan.

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Ampatuan was charged at the Sandiganbayan last year for allegedly favoring the Shariff Aguak Petron Station for the supply of fuel and lubricants for the road and construction projects in the province allegedly without public bidding.  

It involves the provincial government’s procurement of 614,650 liters of diesel worth P22.37 million.

Ampatuan, then a private individual, claimed the charges against him “reek (sic) of contradictions,” saying the said transaction was “properly documented.”

Ampatuan cited an absence of evidence that showed he knew beforehand of the alleged irregularities in the project.

He also justified the acquisition of fuel supply from the Shariff Aguak Petron Station being the only gasoline station in the area then.

However, the Sandiganbayan said it was incumbent upon Ampatuan to ensure all transactions he approved had gone through the regular process. 

“The projects were procured without the conduct of public bidding that deprived the local government of the opportunity to obtain the lowest possible costs,” the Sandiganbayan said.

“These circumstances point to corresponding unwarranted preference and benefit to Shariff Aguak Petron Station considering the prima facie proof of the limited capacity of the said gas station to supply the reported fuel purchases,” it added.

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