THE Sandiganbayan on Friday ordered the suspension of Optical Media Board chairman Ronnie Ricketts and three other officials over graft raps for allowing the return of confiscated pirated digital video discs and video compact discs to Sky High Marketing Corp. from which they were seized.
Also placed under a 90-day preventive suspension were Enforcement and Inspection Division head Manuel Mangubat, EID investigation agent Joseph Arnaldo and EID computer operator Glenn Perez.
The court issued the suspension orders as it ordered the four officials to cease and desist from exercising the function and privileges of their office for 90 days upon receipt of the resolution. The court ordered the Office of the President that oversees the OMB to implement the suspension order.
On July 23, 2015, Ricketts, Mangubat, Arnaldo and Perez pleaded not guilty to the charges.
“Under the rule, it becomes mandatory for the court to immediately issue the suspension order upon proper determination of the validity of the information,” the anti-graft court’s Fourth Division’s decision read.
Under the law, it was “mandatory” to issue a suspension order “upon proper determination of the validity of the [graft] information,’’ the court said.
The Ombudsman said Ricketts must be held culpable for the release of the seized counterfeit items in giving due advantage to Sky High Marketing Corp.
Earlier, Ricketts urged the Sandiganbayan to dismiss the graft case filed against him and expressed the intention to become a witness against Perez, the computer operator, who allegedly supervised the
pullout of 121 boxes of DVDs from the OMB office in Quezon City.
He blamed OMB executive director Cyrus Paul Valenzuela for failure to stop the release despite his knowledge.
“After a judicious, personal, and independent review of the record, which includes the Office of the Ombudsman’s joint resolution finding probable cause against the accused, the Office of the Ombudsman’s joint order denying the motion for reconsideration of the accused, the affidavit-complaint, the counter-affidavits of the accused, and all other filings and supporting documents or evidence on record, the Court finds that probable cause exists for the issuance of the corresponding warrant of arrest against the accused,” the Sandiganbayan’s July 2015 resolution read.
The Ombudsman filed graft charges against Ricketts for giving undue preference to Sky High Marketing Corp. when he ordered the release of the pirated DVDs and VCDs to their owner.