The Sandiganbayan has dismissed the plea of former Mayor Voltaire Anthony C. Villarosa of Mamburao, Occidental Mindoro to dismiss the criminal charges filed against him due to alleged inordinate delay that violated his right to speedy disposition of cases.
Villarosa was charged with violations of the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act in relation to the Tax Reform Code of 1997.
In his motion before the anti-graft court, Villarosa said the preliminary investigation by the Office of the Ombudsman (OMB) on the charges filed against him took more than three years to terminate. While the complaint was filed against him on Aug. 29, 2018, the charges against him were filed only on May 6, 2022, he said.
He pointed out that his case is not complicated and should not have required more than three years to resolve. He added that he was even denied his right to due process because he and his counsel were not furnished a copy of the Ombudsman's resolution. Because of this, he said, he was not given a chance to file his motion for reconsideration.
But the antii-graft court denied his motion for lack of merit. "Here, there is nothing to show that the investigation was motivated by malice or that it was brought about merely to harass herein accused," the court said in its resolution.
While the court noted that there was a "much longer delay" in filing the charges against Villarosa before the Sandiganbayan, it was not considered "unreasonable" given the work suspensions brought about by the Covid-19 pandemic.
"With regard to the accused's right to speedy disposition of cases, there is no allegation, much less, proof that he was prejudiced by the delay in the proceedings before the Office of the Ombudsman," the court said.
The resolution was written by sixth division Chairperson Sarah Jane T. Fernandez with the concurrence of Associate Justices Karl B. Miranda and Kevin Narce B. Vivero.