SC acquits Yap, Lorenzo in P46m fertilizer scandal

The Supreme Court (SC) has once more upheld the doctrine of “justice delayed is justice denied.”

This was manifested in a ruling by the High Tribunal dismissing the five counts of graft leveled against former Agriculture Secretary Luis Ramon Lorenzo and former National Food Authority (NFA) administrator Arthur Yap arising from alleged irregular purchases of P46.l45 million worth of fertilizers in 2003.

In its decision dated September 14 but released only last October 21, the SC upheld the petition of Lorenzo and Yap to dismiss the cases against them for what they described as “inordinate delay in the investigation of their cases on the part of the Office of the Ombudsman.”

The SC ruled that the Sandiganbayan committed abused of discretion when it denied the respondents’ motion to quash the charges, citing the prosecutions’ failure to justify the “delay in the termination of the preliminary investigation.”

“Consequently, the cases against petitioners before the Sandiganbayan should be dismissed for violation of petitioners’ right to speedy disposition of cases,” the SC noted.

The complaints against Lorenzo and Yap stemmed from the alleged irregularities in the procurement of fertilizer under the Ginintuang Masaganang Ani Rice Program from the Philippine Phosphate Fertilizer Corp. (Philphos) for supposed distribution to several regions in Luzon.

The Ombudsman claimed that in 2003, Lorenzo and Yap conspired with Philphos representative Tomas Guibani for the negotiated procurement of the fertilizers, in violation of the Government Procurement Act.

The Ombudsman the respondents “wielded their power as DA secretary and NFA administrator, respectively, to control the bidding procedures and technical requirements/eligibility of prospective bidders to tailor-fit the requirements of favored bidder, Philphos.”

Lorenzo and Yap asserted that from October 2003, when the investigation began, until April 20, 2018, when they were charged before the Sandiganbayan, it took the Ombudsman more than 14 years to build the case.