Sandigan justice to inhibit from ‘pork’ cases

MANILA, Philippines - Sandiganbayan Justice Gregory Ong will inhibit from the plunder charges to be filed by the ombudsman against those involved in the pork barrel scam should these cases be raffled off to his division.

“He will inhibit,” Joffre Gil Zapata, clerk of court of the Sandiganbayan Fourth Division which Ong chairs, told The STAR yesterday.

The magistrate is being linked to Janet Lim-Napoles after he was photographed with the alleged pork barrel scam mastermind during a party.

Contrary to reports that the Supreme Court had initiated an investigation against him due to his ties with Napoles, STAR sources said it was Ong who asked the high tribunal to look into the matter to clear his name.

Zapata said Ong would inhibit from cases involving the misuse of the Priority Development Assistance Fund “to remove any question about his impartiality to handle those cases.”

He said the voluntary inhibition of the magistrate will “protect the image of the anti-graft court.”

The Office of the Ombudsman is investigating the pork barrel scam and is set to file plunder charges against Senators Juan Ponce Enrile, Ramon Revilla Jr. and Jinggoy Estrada unless probers decide to reverse their earlier finding of existence of probable cause.

Criminal cases that are filed before the Sandiganbayan are raffled off to its five divisions.

Associate Justice Efren de la Cruz chairs the First Division, Associate Justice Teresita Diaz-Baldos heads the Second Division, Presiding Justice Amparo Cabotaje-Tang chairs the Third Division and Associate Justice Roland Jurado the Fifth Division.