Sandigan allows presentation of more proof in wealth case

THE Sandiganbayan has allowed other defendants to present their evidence in a 27-year ill-gotten wealth case over objections from the plaintiff, the Republic of the Philippines, and despite the trial having already started 17 months earlier.

In a resolution issued August 29, 2024, the anti-graft court’s Fourth Division overruled the motion for reconsideration filed by the Office of the Solicitor General (OSG) that sought to block the reception of evidence from defendants Lourdes Africa, Nathalie Africa-Verceles, Jose Enrique Africa, and Paul Delfin Africa.

“If this Court has been lenient to the plaintiff in the manner by which the case has been handled for 27 years, it may not be a dereliction of our public duty to afford herein defendants their chance to finally lay down their cards for us to appreciate,” the Sandiganbayan said.

Government lawyers had argued that the defendants should be deemed to have waived their right to present evidence for their failure to appear during the original pre-trial on January 23, 2023 and the second one on February 21, 2023 despite notice from the court.

The OSG likewise pointed out that the trial in the case, Civil Case No. 0178, had already started on March 20, 2023 with the plaintiff’s initial presentation of evidence.

Considering that all defendants, through their respective counsels, received prior notice but failed to provide justifiable grounds for non-appearance, the government insisted that they should no longer be allowed to present their evidence.

The Sandiganbayan, however, pointed out that Civil Case No. 0178 was precisely filed to give private defendants who are minority shareholders of Easter Telecommunication Philippines Inc. (ETPI) the chance to present their case after the Presidential Commission on Good Government (PCGG) failed to implead them in the mother case, Civil Case No. 0009.

The filing of the case was ordered by the Supreme Court in its 1997 decision in the case of the Republic of the Philippines vs. Sandiganbayan, Victor Africa, et al.

“It is but proper to afford the defendants their day in court to adduce their own evidence in accordance with the dictum of due process of law,” the Sandiganbayan