CA favors Sanchez

BATANGAS CITY – Batangas Gov. Armand Sanchez heaved a sigh of relief after the Court of Appeals (CA) granted his petition for certiorari, issuing a permanent injunction against the Ombudsman order suspending him for 60 days.

In a 49-page resolution, the CA’s special seventh division said it found no strong evidence linking Sanchez to alleged anomalies in a P350-million computerization project of the provincial government, as Vice Gov. Ricky Recto had claimed.

Recto’s complaint became the basis for the suspension order signed on Sept. 26 last year but which was served only last Jan. 16, which the CA noted, too.

The CA also said Deputy Ombudsman for Luzon Victor Fernandez earlier had cleared Sanchez of the allegations.

"I never wavered in my belief in our justice system," said the governor, whose re-election bid will be challenged by Lipa City Mayor Vilma Santos-Recto. – Arnell Ozaeta