The number of cases filed by prosecutors before the Sandiganbayan dwindled in 2024 with only 138 cases compared to 263 in 2023, 240 in 2022, and 163 in 2021. Based on the summary of the anti-graft court's "Statistics on Cases Filed, Pending and Disposed of as of Dec. 31, 2024," there were 625 cases...
By pleading guilty to a lesser offense, the treasurer of Caraga town in Davao Oriental evaded a possible longer jail term in his graft case. After his Sandiganbayan arraignment and before the prosecution could start presenting its evidence, treasurer Jaime D. Labasano filed a plea barganing...
The Sandiganbayan has vowed to terminate expeditiously the remaining issues in Civil Case No. 0033, an ill-gotten case that was filed in 1987 against scores of individuals and business firms by the Presidential Commission on Good Government (PCGG). The case has been subdivided into eight separate...
Former Quezon City mayor Herbert “Bistek” M. Bautista and former city administrator Aldrin C. Cuña have been convicted of graft by the Sandiganbayan on the anomalous procurement of the P32.1 million online occupational permitting and tracking system (OOPTS) in 2019. In a 146-page decision...
Former vice president Jejomar C. Binay and his son, former Makati City mayor Jejomar Erwin S. Binay Jr., and 16 other persons have been acquitted of criminal charges filed over the construction of the P1.3 billion Makati Science High School (MSHS) from 2007 to 2013. In an 86-page resolution penned...
President Marcos has appointed Sandiganbayan Associate Justice Geraldine Faith Econg as the body's new presiding justice, replacing Amparo Cabotaje-Tang who retired in November last year. (Photo from IBP Cebu Chapter Facebook) Executive Secretary Lucas Bersamin confirmed Econg's promotion late...
Six members of the board of trustees (BOT) of the Philippine Rice Research Institute (PhilRice) have been acquitted by the Sandiganbayan of graft charges over the alleged anomalous 2009 car plan loans worth about P15 million granted to employees. In a 45-page decision penned by Associate Justice...
The Sandiganbayan has upheld the acquittal of Senate President Pro Temporare Jinggoy Ejercito Estrada on direct and indirect bribery charges in connection with his P183.7 million Priority Development Assistance Fund (PDAF) from 2004 to 2014. In an eight-page resolution dated Nov. 27 and...
The Sandiganbayan has approved the compromise agreement between the Presidential Commission on Good Government (PCGG) and the heirs of a former official during the reign of the late President Ferdinand Marcos Sr. for the return of funds and properties to the government. In an eight-page resolution...
Former Food and Drug Administration (FDA) director-general Nela Charade Galang Puno has been acquitted of graft charge for reportedly not giving due process in shutting down a cancer treatment center. In a 43-page decision promulgated last Nov. 7 and penned by Associate Justice Ronald N. Moreno,...
Former Veterans Federation of the Philippines (VFP) president Bonifacio Garcillan De Gracia has been acquitted of graft charges by the Sandiganbayan over the alleged anomalous lease of properties belonging to the government-owned and controlled corporation (GOCC).. “When evidence of the...
The Sandiganbayan has deleted the P3 million fines imposed on former Cagayan de Oro City congressman Constantino G. Jaraula and his co-accused as additonal penalty for their graft conviction on the anomalous purchase of liquid fertilizers from 2003 to 2004. “The prosecution, despite the...
