Ex-energy chief wants graft raps dismissed

MANILA, Philippines — Former energy secretary Carlos Jericho Petilla has asked the Sandiganbayan to dismiss the graft charges filed against him in connection with the fertilizer fund scam, citing the “inordinate delay” in the investigation by the Office of the Ombudsman.

In a 13-page motion filed before the Sandiganbayan’s Fourth Division recently, Petilla said the ombudsman violated his constitutional right to a speedy resolution of the case.

“The ombudsman gave... no reason as to the cause of the decade-long delay in the conduct of the preliminary investigation,”  Petilla’s motion read.

He said the ombudsman’s Task Force Abono started its investigation into the fertilizer scam on February 2006, but a complaint was filed against him only on June 21, 2013. 

Petilla said it took another four years and nine months to finish the preliminary investigation and file the case before the Sandiganbayan

He said some of the records  which could be used as evidence were lost or destroyed, adding that former provincial agriculturist Rogelio Portula, who signed the questioned transactions, is dead.

“Had the ombudsman followed its mandate and expedited proceedings, the accused... could have prepared... for the indictment... by securing documents and taking affidavits of witnesses,” Petilla said.

Petilla, and his mother, Remedios, the incumbent mayor of Palo, Leyte, and three other former provincial officials were charged with graft on April 6 for the purchase of liquid fertilizer without public bidding during their respective terms.

Based on the charge sheets,  Remedios paid a total of P3.131 million to Castle Rock Construction for the purchase of 350 gallons of  liquid fertilizer.

When Petilla succeeded his mother, he purchased another 350 gallons for P1.686 million from the same company.