Sandigan junks bid to dismiss Manor fire case

MANILA, Philippines - The Sandiganbayan has denied a motion filed by former Quezon City engineer Alfredo Macapugay asking the anti-graft court to dismiss the graft cases against him over the 2001 Manor Hotel fire that left 74 people dead.

In a 15-page resolution released recently, the Sandiganbayan’s Seventh  Division denied Macapugay’s motion for lack of merit.

Associate Justice Zaldy Trespeses, who penned the resolution, said the court is “extremely disappointed” with Macapugay’s belated “filing of a baseless motion to dismiss the… cases on the ground of lack of jurisdiction.”

Trespeses added that it took Macapugay, who filed the motion last December, “more than 14 years to allegedly realize that he should not have been charged,” after actively participating in the trial.

In the resolution, the magistrate said “a review of the information and relevant laws yields that… the Sandiganbayan has jurisdiction.”

Macapugay was charged with three counts of graft in 2002 because he and other city officials allegedly allowed Manor Hotel to continue operating from 1999 to 2001 despite the city fire marshall’s recommendation for its closure due to fire and building code violations.

In his motion, Macapugay said the inspection and supervision of private buildings are not included in the Local Government Code, which enumerates the functions of a city engineer.

He said inspecting the safety of private buildings is a job that belongs to the city building official, a position that was assigned to him but he was neither given a formal designation nor a separate department.

Macapugay said the Sandiganbayan only has jurisdiction over cases of government officials who are department heads or receive salary grade 27.

He said the case should have been filed with the courts of first instance rather than the Sandiganbayan.