Sandiganbayan posts record-high case disposal rate in first half of 2017

MANILA, Philippines — The anti-graft court Sandiganbayan had a prolific first half of the year, resolving 442 cases higher than the 371 cases disposed for the entire 2016.

Based on the figures from the Sandiganbayan Judicial Records Division, the anti-graft court opened the year with 4,214 pending cases carried over from the previous years.

The court's caseload surged to as high as 5,658 as the Office of the Ombudsman filed a whopping total of 1,429 cases from January to June, significantly higher than the last six years since Conchita Carpio Morales was appointed as Ombudsman in 2011.

The court, however, managed to bring down its pending cases to 5,216 as of the end of June due to its high disposal rate of 442 cases, equivalent to 74 cases resolved per month.

The total number of cases disposed by the court from January to June was 185 percent higher than the 155 cases resolved in the same period last year.

The Sandiganbayan's performance for the first half of 2017 was also a record-high from the past three years. The figures show that the court managed to resolve 371 cases in 2016 and only 276 and 277 cases in 2015 and 2014, respectively.

With its current performance rate, it is most likely that the anti-graft court will surpass its 2013 record of 480 resolved cases, the highest since Amparo Cabotaje-Tang was appointed as the Sandiganbayan Presiding Justice by then President Benigno Aquino III.

The marked improvement in the Sandiganbayan's case disposition rate came after two additional court divisions became operational in the middle of 2016.

From its previous five divisions, the Sandiganbayan got a funding from the government for the creation of two more divisions by virtue of Republic Act 10660 approved in 2015.

The passage of the law seeks to decongest the Sandiganbayan docket and aid the court in the immediate resolution of graft and other corruption cases against public officials.

Proving to be the most prolific in the first half of 2017 was the court's First Division chaired by Associate Justice Efren De La Cruz with 158 resolved cases followed by the Seventh Division chaired by Associate Justice Alexander Gesmundo with 116 resolved cases and the Fourth Division chaired by Associate Justice Alex Quiroz with 61 resolved cases.

The Fifth and Third Divisions managed to resolve 50 and 30 cases, respectively. Meanwhile, the Second and Sixth Divisions only resolved 19 and eight cases, respectively.

Surge of cases

Meanwhile, the number of cases filed by the Office of the Ombudsman in the first half of 2017 was the highest since 1994 when it was able to bring before the court a total of 1,736 cases.

On average, the records show that this year, the Ombudsman has been filing 238 cases per month against former and incumbent public officials.

The majority of the cases filed involve malversation of public funds and violation of Republic Act 3019 or the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act.

The Ombudsman's performance, however, was offset by the high number of case dismissals.

Based on the Sandiganbayan's records, 135 of the disposed cases in the first half of 2017 involve dismissal without trial while 63 more resolved cases involve acquittal of the accused after trial.

Only 36 of the disposed cases resulted in the conviction of the accused while 30 cases were voluntarily withdrawn by the Ombudsman's Office of the Special Prosecutor (OSP) before or during the start of the trial.

Meanwhile, 57 cases were ordered indefinitely archived by the court.

The court usually orders the archiving of the case when the accused is still at large for several years or when an accused is able to prove that he or she is not mentally or physically fit to undergo trial.