“Jurisprudence teaches that courts must act in line with the principle that a party-litigant should be given the fullest opportunity to establish the merits of his complaint or defense rather than for him to lose life, liberty, honor, or property on technicalities.”
Guided by that Supreme Court (SC) pronouncement, the Sandiganbayan allowed former Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) Gov. Nur P. Misuari to refund the P920,000 he posted for his travel abroad despite his failure to comply with his travel authority.
Misuari, also the founding chairman of the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) has pending graft and malversation cases before the anti-graft court for alleged anomalous purchases of different educational packages and materials from 2000 to 2001.
He requested to travel abroad and it was granted. Under his travel authority, his return to Manila should be on May 11, 2022. He said he failed to return as he fell seriously ill in Dubai in the United Arab Emirates and could not travel back to the Philippines.
He returned to Manila last June 16 and pleaded the Sandiganbayan for the release of the P920,000 he posted as travel bond. He submitted documents to back up his claim.
The prosecution opposed his plea for violation of his travel authority.
But the anti-graft court junked the prosecution’s opposition as it ruled that "procedural rules may be relaxed for the most persuasive of reasons."
"Taking into consideration the circumstances mentioned in accused Misuari's Manifestation cum Compliance, the Court finds that the failure of Misuari to return to the country within the period prescribed by the Court was not animated by a deliberate desire to disregard its directive," the court said.
"The confluence of events simply prevented him from strictly complying with the said Court's directive. Thus, in the higher interest of justice, the Court holds that accused Misuari substantially complied with the terms and conditions imposed by the Court in its Resolution promulgated on April 22, 2022," it added.
“Accordingly, the release of the cash travel bond posted by the accused Misuari is in order,” the court ruled.
Presiding Justice Amparo M. Cabotaje-Tang wrote the 14-page resolution with the concurrence of Associate Justices Bernelito R. Fernandez and Ronald B. Moreno.