Inordinate delay: Another ‘pork’ scam case junked

MANILA, Philippines — Due to “inordinate delay” in the judicial process, the Court of Appeals (CA) has dismissed the civil forfeiture case filed by the Anti-Money Laundering Council (AMLC) against three alleged accomplices of Janet Lim Napoles in the pork barrel scam case.

In a 17-page decision promulgated on Oct. 17, the CA’s Ninth Division granted the petition filed by Hector Ang, Nicole Tiffany Ang and Jaquiline Ang, which sought the reversal of the 2022 ruling by the Manila Regional Trial Court (RTC) Branch 18 that denied their motion to dismiss the case.

In their petition, the appellants claimed their right to speedy disposition of their case was violated when the conduct of pre-trial was held eight years and five months after submission of the last pleading.

They also argued the AMLC did not present a valid reason for the delay and case records do not show any meritorious reason for the same.

In siding with the petitioners, the CA noted that the civil forfeiture case did not move from June 2014 to June 2022, adding that the petitioners were entitled to their right to the speedy disposition of their case.

It said the constitutional right was not limited to the accused in criminal proceedings, but also includes all parties in all cases.

“Was there really a violation of the right of the petitioners to a speedy disposition of their case? We resolve the issue in the affirmative. The lapse of eight years and five months, without having the case moved from one stage to another, is a long delay – an inordinate delay, and there was no reason provided as to why there was a delay in the case’s proceedings,” the ruling read.

“Here, the danger of inordinate reliance on human memory would result in the possible deprivation of property, a circumstance that would be unjust and oppressive,” it added.

The CA said the RTC committed grave abuse of discretion in denying the petitioners’ motion to dismiss on the ground of violation of their right to speedy disposition of their case.

The ruling was penned by Associate Justice Eleuterio Bathan and concurred with Associate Justices Florencio Mamauag Jr. and Nina Antonio Valenzuela.