Plunder case vs GMA raffled off to Sandigan First Division

MANILA, Philippines - The plunder case filed by the Ombudsman against former President and now Pampanga Rep. Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo for the alleged misuse of funds of the Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office (PCSO) was raffled off to the First Division of the Sandiganbayan yesterday.

Magistrates of the First Division led by Associate Justice Efren de la Cruz are expected to hear Arroyo’s very urgent motion to suspend proceedings next week.

The First Division’s members include Associate Justices Rodolfo Ponferrada and Rafael Lagos, an appointee of President Aquino.

Like Fourth Division chairman Gregory Ong whose court is handling the national broadband network (NBN) deal graft charge against Arroyo, De la Cruz said no special attention will be given to the plunder charge.

“It will just be an ordinary case,” he remarked to reporters after the raffle held at the courtroom of the Sandiganbayan Third Division.

De la Cruz and Ponferrada are Arroyo appointees who assumed their posts in October 2003 and August 2004, while Lagos was appointed to the position by Aquino in December 2010.  

Arroyo’s lawyers urged the Sandiganbayan to suspend the proceedings on the P365.9-million plunder case filed against the former president.

The lawyers also urged the Sandiganbayan to defer the issuance of a warrant of arrest. They argued Arroyo has not even received a copy of the Review Resolution that found probable cause to indict her.

Arroyo’s lawyers also argued that any person under preliminary investigation by the Ombudsman is entitled to file a motion for reconsideration under its rules of procedure.

“A denial of the right to file a motion for reconsideration would also amount to a deprivation of an accused’s right to a full preliminary investigation preparatory to the filing of the information against (her),” they stressed.