The Supreme Court (SC) has ordered the dismissal of 22 counts of graft and malversation charges involving P143.2 million in 2012 against Negros Oriental Gov. Roel R. Degamo last Feb. 22 or 10 days before he was killed in his residence in Pamplona town last March 4. The SC’s resolution, which granted Degamo’s petition and those of his co-accused and issued by the court’s first division, was made public last March 29, or 25 days after the governor’s slaying where eight other persons died. Also cleared by the SC were Degamo’s co-petitioners -- provincial treasurer Danilo Mendez, provincial accountant Teodorico Reyes and private contractor Farouk Macarambon.  They all filed separate petitions which were consolidated into one case by the SC. The SC reversed and set aside on the ground of double jeopardy, the resolutions issued by the Sandiganbayan’s Second Division which denied Degamo and his co-petitioners motion seeking the summary dismissal of the charges filed against them by the Office of the Ombudsman. The charges arose from the P480.7 million Special Allotment and Release Order (SARO) which Degamo requested in 2012 for projects after Negros Oriental was ravaged by typhoon “Sendong” in 2011. The late governor and his co-accused were indicted criminally for disbursing P143.2 million out of the P480.7 million. Degamo was accused of conspiring with his co-respondents in disbursing P143.2 million of the P480.7 million SARO for calamity funds despite lack of funds because the SARO was withdrawn by the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) on Among other legal justifications, Degamo and his co-accused told the SC that they have already been acquitted by the Sandiganbayan’s third division with a ruling that they acted in good faith and there was no manifest partiality or gross inexcusable negligence on their part. They also said the pendency of the similar cases before the anti-graft court’s second and third divisions would result in multiple prosecutions. The dispositive portion of the SC’s resolution: