Case on importation of drug precursor: John-John's lawyer calls motion for recon 'scrap'

CEBU - The lawyer of former Cebu Vice Governor John Gregory Osmeña ignored the motion for reconsideration filed by the Department of Justice on the dismissal of the case against his client for allegedly being empty and defective that is not worth the court’s attention.

Lawyer Edgar Gica, instead of opposing the motion and arguing the prosecution panel’s assertion that the court failed to give weight to the chronology of events that linked Osmeña to the illegal importation of P6 billion worth of drug precursor in 2004, just filed a manifestation for the court to consider it as a “mere scrap of paper.”

Gica said the motion was defective as it did not follow the rules of procedures under the Rules of Court. Under the rules, Gica said, the motion should have been set for hearing.

However, the panel of prosecutors led by Archimedes Manabat failed to set a date for hearing in the motion making it fatally defective.

Gica said that the prosecutors also could no longer correct the defect because of the expiration of the 15-day period.

The lawyer said that the defective motion for reconsideration speaks of how ignorant the members of the panel are on the Rules of Court.

“Basin tingali ang ilang naantigohan mao ang lang ang pagpangluto og kaso,” Gica said over radio station dyLA.

Gica reiterated that the case against his client was just pure harassment insinuating that the people who insisted on filing the case may have an agenda.

“Tingali gusto gyud nila nga moduol mi aron motanyag mi,” Gica said.

He explained that he did not anymore answer on the arguments of the prosecution panel claiming that there was nothing new to it.

He said that the allegations of his client’s staffers being used as incorporators of the Coastside Ventures Incorporated and the use of his address were old issues.

The panel of prosecutors earlier assailed the ruling of Regional Trial Court judge Eric Menchavez on November 24 dismissing the case for alleged failure of the prosecution to establish evidentiary link between Osmeña and the alleged drug traffickers, Mike Cummings and Dirk Hultz.

The prosecutors said that while they did not proffer any direct link between the accused and the alleged drug traffickers but the circumstances allegedly pointed to Osmeña as the protector and coddler of Cummings and Hultz.

According to the prosecutors, the court failed to appreciate the significance of the fact that the consignee, Cummings and the Coastside Ventures, Incorporated, used Osmeña’s address.

The prosecutors likewise pointed out that the officers of the Coastside Ventures are also employees of the Vice Governor’s Office, the post that Osmeña then held. – Fred P. Languido/NLQ (THE FREEMAN)