Trial of the graft case filed against Aurora Gov. Gerardo Noveras and his seven co-accused will proceed after the Sandiganbayan has denied their motions to allow them to challenge the alleged weakness of the prosecution’s evidence.

Noveras and his group sought the court’s permission to file demurrers to evidence after the prosecution has rested the presentation of its evidence.

They claimed that the prosecution's evidence is "inherently weak, unsubstantiated, and insufficient to prove their guilt beyond reasonable doubt."

If allowed to file their demurrers, they told the anti-graft court they would be able to point out in detail the weaknesses of the prosecution's evidence and have the case dismissed.

A demurrer to evidence is filed by an accused in a criminal case to seek the dismissal of the charge on allegation of weakness of the prosecution’s evidence to sustain a conviction.  It is filed after the prosecution has presented its evidence.

If the demurrer is granted by the court, the case is dismissed and the accused is acquitted.  If the demurrer is denied, trial of the case will proceed.

Novera’s co-accused in the cases are Provincial Administrator Simeon De Castro, Provincial General Services Officer Ricardo Bautista, Provincial Budget Officer Norma Clemente, Provincial Legal Officer Paz Torregosa, Assistant Provincial Engineer Benedicto Rojo, Executive Assistant IV Isaias Noveras Jr., and private individual Manding Claro Ramos of RMCR Construction.

They were charged with violation of Section 3(e) of Republic Act No. 3019 or the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act in connection with the alleged anomalous repair of the Dimalang Bridge approach of the Casiguran-Dilasag provincial road and and its road section.

The prosecution alleged that from March to September 2014, they conspired with one another and gave undue advantage and benefits to RMCR Construction by awarding it the contract without public bidding.

It said in the charge sheet that the accused "rigged the bidding process" since RMCR had already implemented and almost completed the repair projects even before the procurement process was concluded.

In denying their motions, the anti-graft court said: “After a careful examination of the evidence of the prosecution, and considering the arguments raised by the accused in their respective motions, this Court rules that granting accused leave to file demurrers to evidence will accomplish nothing but will merely delay the proceedings."

The Sandiganbayan resolution was written by Associate Justice Sarah Jane T. Fernandez with the concurrence of Associate Justices Karl B. Miranda and Kevin Narce B. Vivero.