The Sandiganbayan has dismissed the civil forfeiture case filed against the late Leyte governor Benjamin “Kokoy” Romualdez and his widow, Juliette Gomez Romualdez, for violation of their right to speedy disposition of cases.

Civil Case 0035, which was filed against Trans Middle East Phils. Equities, Inc. (TMEPEI) owner Romualdez and many others, involved the alleged irregular acquisition of 6.2 million of the then Philippine Commercial and Industrial Bank shares of stock.

The prosecution alleged that Romualdez used his connection as the brother of then First Lady Imelda Marcos to acquire the shares of stocks and he used TMEPEI and Edilberto Narciso, Jr. as “dummy buyers.”

In their motion to dismiss, the Romualdezes said the civil case has been pending for almost 38 years, and the inordinate delay of the prosecution violated their constitutional right to speedy disposition of cases.

They further argued that the continued pendency of the case appeared to be politically motivated because of their relationship with the Marcos family.

And with the transactions subject of the case having lapsed 50 years already, they told the anti-graft court that they would have difficulty in securing documentary and testimonial evidence.

For its part, the Sandiganbayan said the continued pendency of the case is “beyond cavil.”

It found that the prosecution failed to successfully identify the issues of the case that are deemed complex and how the voluminous nature of records in any way relate to their failure to prosecute the matter over the course of nearly four decades.

“Considering the vast duration required just to reach this preliminary phase, it is reasonable to think that the case’s final resolution would further consume a prodigious interval,” the court said.

“All told, the Court finds the period in question to be vexatious, capricious, or oppressive to defendants as would warrant the dismissal of the case on the ground of inordinate delay,” the court ruled.

The 13-page resolution dated June 26, 2025 was written by Associate Justice Kevin Narce B. Vivero with the concurrence of Associate Justices Lord A. Villanueva, Arthur O. Malabaguio, and Juliet M. Manolo-San Gaspar.