The anti-graft court’s fifth division said government prosecutors "deprived" Laurel, former chairman of the National Centennial Commission, of his right to file an appeal because he was only given a copy of their decision on the same day he was indicted.
In a two-page resolution, the fifth division said Laurel was "deprived of his statutory rights to file a motion for reconsideration" when the case was filed last March 21, the same day he received a copy of the Ombudsman’s ruling holding him liable for graft.
Laurel was given 15 days within which to file his appeal, while the Office of the Special Prosecutor was given 30 days to submit to the Sandiganbayan a "status report" on the case.
Laurel’s request to suspend the Sandiganbayan proceedings, however, was denied.
The anti-graft court held that Laurel’s plea to hold the trial — and arraignment — in abeyance was "not a valid ground" to suspend the proceedings.
Laurel was scheduled to be arraigned last May 2, but this was reset after President Arroyo declared it a "non-working holiday."
Laurel said the Ombudsman failed to furnish him a copy of the resolution before filing the information in court, which is the normal practice.
He said this is a "serious irregularity in the conduct of preliminary investigation."
Laurel was indicted for allegedly unilaterally increasing the budget of the Freedom Ring, the teflon-roofed amphitheater of the Expo Pilipino in Clark Field, Pampanga, from P248 million to P1.165 billion.
The Ombudsman’s probers said Laurel allegedly hiked the Freedom Ring budget without the benefit of a public bidding, and that he allegedly gave unwarranted benefits to the Asia Construction and Development Corp. (Asiakonstrukt) when the NCC awarded the project to the company.
Investigators said the NCC allegedly issued to Asiakonstrukt a "notice to proceed without the benefit of a contract" and allowed the payment of P384 million to the company "without the benefit of a public bidding."