THE Sandiganbayan has acquitted former Vice President Jejomar Binay and his son, erstwhile Makati City Mayor Jejomar Erwin Binay Jr., and 16 others of criminal charges filed over the construction of the P1.3-billion Makati Science High School (MSHS) from 2007 to 2013.
In an 86-page resolution, the anti-graft courts' Special Fifth Division granted the demurrer to evidence of the accused and ordered the cases against them dismissed “for insufficiency of evidence.”
A demurrer to evidence is a pleading filed by an accused in a criminal case seeking the dismissal of the charges on alleged weakness of the prosecution's evidence.
Under the rules of court, once the demurrer is granted, the case will be dismissed, thus the dismissal is deemed an acquittal.
The accused were charged with multiple counts of falsification of public documents under Article 171 of the Revised Penal Code (RPC) and multiple counts of violating Section 3(e) of Republic Act (RA) 3019, the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act.
The case stemmed from a complaint filed by the Office of the Ombudsman on alleged irregularities in the architectural and engineering services for the four-storey dormitory that was awarded to Infiniti Architectural Works for P17,446,760, as well as alleged irregularities in the construction services for the six phases of the 10-storey MSHS building that was awarded to Hilmarc’s Construction Corp. for P1,336,282,212.
In granting the demurrer to evidence, the anti-graft court noted that the prosecution failed to prove all of the charges.
The presumption of innocence in favor of an accused in a criminal case is a basic constitutional guarantee. It demands that the State must establish guilt beyond reasonable doubt.
To do so, the prosecution must rely on the strength of its evidence, not the weakness of his defense. Every reasonable doubt of his guilt entitles him to an acquittal.”
Aside from the Binays, those acquitted included former city administrator and bids and awards committee (BAC) chairperson Marjorie De Veyra, then city legal officer and BAC member Pio Kenneth Dasal, city budget officer and BAC member Lorenza Amores, and then city accountant Leonila Querijero.
Also acquitted were former city treasurer Nelia Barlis, then computer operator of the General Services Division Norman Flores, ex-BAC secretary and head of BAC secretariat Giovanni Condes, then head of BAC technical working group Rodel Nayve, BAC secretariat member Ralph Liberato, then assistant department head and BAC vice chairman Ulysses Orienza, then BAC vice chairman Gerardo San Gabriel, former acting city accountant; former acting city accountant Raydes Pestano, then acting city administrator Eleno Mendoza Jr., along with Virginia Garcia of Infiniti Architectural Works and Efren Canlas, and Julius Ramos, both of Hilmarc’s Construction Corp.
“The bail bonds of the accused are hereby cancelled and ordered returned to them or their duly authorized representative/s, subject to the usual auditing and accounting rules and procedure. The Hold Departure Orders issued against all the accused in the foregoing cases are hereby lifted and set aside,” the decision stated.
The court also noted that the prosecution believed that the accused were guilty of violating RA 3019 because “they, in conspiracy with each other, rigged the bidding and award of the architectural and engineering design and the construction of the Makati High School building, to favor Infiniti and Hilmarc, in violation of the procurement law, RA 9184.”
Associate Sandiganbayan Justice Rafael Lagos penned the ruling that was promulgated last Dec. 13.