With the exception of Chief Justice Hilario Davide Jr., who inhibited himself from the case, three justices of the first division threw out the defense of Laurel, former chairman of the National Centennial Commission (NCC), that he could not be held liable since he was not a public official.
"The question of whether Laurel is a public official under the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act involves the appreciation of evidence and interpretation of law, matters that are best resolved at a trial," the SC ruled.
In November 2000, the Ombudsman recommended the filing of graft charges against Laurel after graft probers found out that he awarded the Centennial Expo’s Freedom Ring project to the Asia Construction Development Authority without benefit of a public bidding.
A year later, however, the NCC chairman obtained from the SC an order stopping Ombudsman Aniano Desierto from filing criminal charges.
The three justices who lifted the order yesterday were Santiago Kapunan, Reynato Puno and Consuelo Ynares-Santiago.
Laurel had contended that he could not be held liable since he was not a government official, having received no salary as NCC chairman and chief executive officer of Expocorp., the contractor given the task to finish the Expo project in Pampanga.
"Would such a fact bear any significance? Obviously, this proceeding is not the proper forum to settle these issues lest we preempt the trial court from resolving them," Kapunan wrote in his 30-page decision.
The SC noted that the NCC clearly performed sovereign and executive functions being created by then President Fidel Ramos.
"It is therefore a public office and Laurel, as its chair, is a public officer," the tribunal said.
The court noted that salary is not a necessary criterion for determining the nature of the position.
"The salary is a mere incident and forms no part of the office. It is not conclusive," the SC ruled.
In their report, graft probers also said Laurel had "prematurely" issued a notice to proceed with the construction of the P1.12-billion Freedom Ring in December 1996, four months before the contract was signed.
Investigators Maria Linda Llagas-Vicente, Mary Ann Corpus-Mañalac and Emma Suarez claimed there was manifest partiality, evident bad faith and gross inexcusable negligence on the part of the respondent, manifested by failure to abide by the rules and regulations of public bidding.
The Ombudsman said Laurel compromised the secrecy of the sealed bids by prematurely opening them in his office, "and awarded the project to Asiakonstruct in 1996 without required technical and financial evaluation of bids."
The Fact-Finding and Intelligence Bureau said Laurel was primarily responsible for all decisions and actions made in connection with the Freedom Ring project, an amphitheater intended to accommodate 35,000 persons for the centennial celebration of Philippine independence in 1998.