THE Sandiganbayan has junked a $5.2-million forfeiture case against President Marcos’s uncle, Benjamin Romualdez, his wife Juliette, and their heirs.
The anti-graft’s court’s sixth division, in a resolution dated March 19, granted the ad cautelam motion to dismiss filed by the Romualdez heirs in the civil case docketed as SB-25-CVL-0001 filed in November 2025.
The same suit had already been resolved by Sandiganbayan Fourth Division, and such action was acknowledged by the anti-graft court’s sixth division.
“Regardless of whether the Fourth Division correctly ruled on the matter before it, or whether it had jurisdiction to do so, this Court, being co-equal with the Fourth Division, and without the authority to annul its acts, cannot interfere in the said ruling, respecting the doctrine of non-interference,” the Sandiganbayan said.
The Sixth Division stated that the $5 million in bank deposits covered by the case had already been covered by Fourth Division rulings in October and November 2025.
“Petitioner Republic is effectively asking this Court to interfere in… the Fourth Division’s resolution… [but] the remedy is… a higher court with the authority to nullify” the ruling, it stated.
The court granted the motion to dismiss on the ground of non-interference.
But it was quick to say the dismissal does not prevent the government from pursuing its petition before the Supreme Court which seeks to stop the release of the funds.
“SB-25-CVL-0001 is hereby dismissed, without prejudice to its re-filing in the event that the Supreme Court nullifies the Fourth Division’s resolutions dated October 3, 2025 and November 14, 2025,” it added.
