By Czarina Nicole Ong Ki The Sandiganbayan Fifth Division has refused to reopen the case of Negros Oriental Provincial Administrator Richard R. Enojo after he was convicted of graft for using the Philippine National Police (PNP) to summon private individuals and settle a land dispute. Sandiganbayan (MANILA BULLETIN) Enojo was found guilty beyond reasonable doubt of violating Section 3(a) of R.A. 3019, the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act on October 18, 2019, and was sentenced to an indeterminate penalty of six years and one month imprisonment as minimum up to eight years as maximum, with perpetual disqualification from holding public office. His Formal Entry of Appearance and Motion to Reopen the Case to Receive Further Proof was received by the anti-graft court on January 6, and it was heard on January 24. In his motion, Enojo explained that the testimony of then Dauin Police Chief Enreque Asonio, particularly that he did not know about the accused's request and if his office favorably acted upon it, was quite important. Enojo said his interest to check with the said police station was encouraged by revelations coming from the retired Police Chief that it is standard operating procedure that no radio message can be sent without prior approval of the Chief or Acting Chief of Police of the station. It is quite lucky, according to Enojo, that he uncovered the original of the draft of the radio message summoning the individuals that it was "SGD OK." He said Asonio knew of the existence of the document but withheld it from the accused. Since it was not produced during trial, he is hoping now to reopen the case and admit it as evidence. Enojo is positive that doing so would change the outcome of the court's ruling. However, the anti-graft court was not of the same mind. "The draft itself proves nothing to warrant a reopening for the reception of further proof or evidence in this case," the resolution stated. Enojo had hoped that Asonio's role in the matter would contradict his testimony. But the court said that the document does not prove his involvement, and the accusations against him are "clearly baseless and unfounded." The 13-page resolution was written by Fifth Division Chairperson Rafael Lagos with the concurrences of Associate Justices Maria Theresa Mendoza-Arcega and Maryann E. Corpus-Mañalac. Enojo used the PNP - Dauin Police Station to summon Ralph Gavin Hughes, Melinda A. Regalado and Atty. Ligaya Rubio Violeta to attend a conference with him regarding a land dispute on February 7, 2013. According to the prosecution, persuading the PNP to summon these individuals is beyond its mandate under Section 24 of R.A. 6975 or the Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG) Act of 1990. Section 3(a) penalizes any public officer who "persuades, induces or influences another public officer to perform an act constituting a violation of rules and regulation or an offense in connection with the official duties of the latter."