The Sandiganbayan has junked the appeal of the prosecution for a retrial of former Mactan-Cebu International Airport Authority general manager Adelberto Federico Yap.
The anti-graft court's Second Division denied the motion for reconsideration (MR) of Ombudsman prosecutors for failure o present new arguments that would reverse the dismissal of Yap's case.
“There is nothing in the subject Motion for Reconsideration which has not been passed upon in the assailed Resolution that would warrant a reversal of the case,” the Sandiganbayan said in a May 8 resolution penned by Associate Justice Lorifel Pahimna.
The Sandiganbayan dismissed the case due to “inordinate delay” after finding that the Ombudsman filed the complaint only in April 2014, or almost six years from the time his case was provisionally dismissed and downgraded for a fact-finding investigation.
Yap was charged for violation of the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act for awarding a P161,890.91-contract to MS Electronics for the airport's radio communications network in 2005.
Yap allegedly approved the contract despite the lack of a public bidding and the absence of an approved budget for the contract.
The prosecution, in filing its motion for reconsideration disputed anti-graft court's ruling, saying a six-year delay did noy violate Yap's right to a speedy disposition of case.
“Contrary to plaintiff’s argument, accused has already actively participated in the fact-finding investigation conducted by the Office of the Ombudsman, which has control over the same,” the Sandiganbayan said on the other hand.