Former Oriental Mindoro Rep. Rodolfo G. Valencia lost anew his bid to dismiss his graft and malversation of public funds charges even before the presentation of his rebuttal evidence.
In a resolution, the Sandiganbayan denied Valencia’s motion to reconsider the dismissal of his plea to file a demurrer to evidence – a pleading to get the court’s permission to file a motion to dismiss the charges based on the alleged weakness of the prosecution’s evidence to sustain a conviction.
Valencia was charged with three counts of graft and three counts of malversation for allegedly receiving P2.4 million out of the P6.5 million of his 2009 Priority Development Assistance Fund (PDAF) disbursed to the Masaganang Ani Para sa Magsasaka Foundation, Inc. (MAMFI), an alleged bogus non-government organization.
His motion to file a demurrer to evidence had been denied. He filed a motion for reconsideration.
He challenged the evidence presented against him to the effect that he caused the release of his PDAF to the now-defunct Technology and Livelihood Resource Center (TLRC)/National Agribusiness Corporation (Nabcor) and ultimately to the non-government organization MAMFI.
The Sandiganbayan’s seventh division denied his motion. “These are matters of defense which can be raised against the sufficiency of the prosecution's evidence," it said.
"A consideration of the arguments raised would lead this court to prematurely weigh the probative worth of the evidence," it added.
"This is the reason why in resolving a demurrer, it is only the sufficiency of evidence from the prosecution's vantage point that is primarily weighed without interjecting the defense angle of the accused," it stressed.
With the denial, Valencia now has to present his evidence during the continuation of the trial of the cases.
Seventh Division Chairperson Ma. Theresa Dolores C. Gomez-Estoesta wrote the three-page resolution with the concurrence of Associate Justices Zaldy V. Trespeses and Georgina D. Hidalgo.