The Sandiganbayan has denied the motion of Tomas Guibani, representative of Philippine Phosphate Fertilizer Corp. or PhilPhos, to have his case dismissed considering that the principal and his co-accused, former Agriculture Secretary Luis Ramon Lorenzo and former National Food Authority Administrator Arthur Yap were both cleared of the same charge.
Guibani was charged with five counts of graft in violation of Section 3(e) of the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act before the Sandiganbayan in 2018. The lawsuit filed by the Ombudsman stemmed from the alleged lack of bidding of Lorenzo and Yap for purchasing P46.45-million worth of fertilizers in July and August 2003.
The Ombudsman said that in 2003, Lorenzo and Yap colluded with Guibani for the negotiated purchase of fertilizers, in violation of the Government Procurement Act, and that they used their power to manipulate the bidding process and the technical requirements/eligibility of potential bidders to tailor-fit the requirements of the favored bidder, PhilPhos.
However, in October 2022, the Supreme Court ruled in favor of Lorenzo and Yap and ordered the Sandiganbayan to dismiss the cases against them, saying the anti-graft court “committed grievous error in refusing to consider the evidence aliunde presented by petitioners in their motions to quash on the ground that the facts charged do not constitute an offense.”
The graft charges against the two public officials were, thus, dismissed solely on the grounds of violating their constitutional right to speedy disposition of cases, according to the high court.
Guibani contended in his appeal that since the cases against Lorenzo and Yap, were dismissed by the court, he should be free of the same allegation, especially since he is just a private citizen.
The Sandiganbayan, however, denied Guibani’s motion, saying that the dismissal of the cases against Lorenzo and Yap cannot be used as a justification for dismissing the charges against him.
The court said the acquittal of Lorenzo and Yap was based on the violation of their right to a speedy resolution of cases, not on the conclusion that no crime was committed or that they did not commit any crime.
“Considering that the bases of the conspiracy charged have not been removed, there is no ground for outright dismissing these cases as to accused Guibani,” the anti-graft court said.
Guibani’s lawyer has yet to issue a statement on the Sandiganbayan’s decision.