Jinggoy bail hearing delayed anew

MANILA, Philippines - Government prosecutors on Tuesday again failed to present their witness at the bail hearing of Senator Jinggoy Estrada in connection with his plunder case before the Sandiganbayan.

This came after the Court directed anew prosecutors and defense panels to sit down and properly mark the documents to be presented during the bail hearings.

The Sandiganbayan's 5th Division, chaired by Associate Justice  Roland Jurado, ordered the daily markings of the documents, including the Special Allotment Release Order (SARO), to expedite the court proceedings.

A member of the 5th Division, Associate Justice Alexander Gesmundo, said the markings should have been finished when both parties sat down to do the task.

"They (documents) should have been marked when you sat down during the stipulation and marking of the documents... so we can dispose with the marking for the convenience of everyone in court," Gesmundo told the prosecution panel.

A prosecutor explained that they were no able to do the marking of the documents during the preliminary conference.

"We never came to that point," a prosecutor told the Court.

At Tuesday's proceedings, the prosecution was supposed to call in lawyer Vic Escalante Jr., a graft investigation and prosecution office of the Office of the Ombudsman, to the witness stand and testify on the SAROs provided by the Commission on Audit.

The Court also ordered the prosecution to furnish the defense panel copies of the judicial affidavits of witnesses to be presented during the bail hearings.