SC junks graft raps vs JPE over coco levy fund
THE Supreme Court (SC) has dismissed the graft case filed against the former senator and now Chief Presidential Legal Counsel Juan Ponce Enrile (JPE) over the coco levy fund scam.
In a 53-page decision promulgated on January 16, 2023, but was only publicly released on February 8, the SC First Division said that Enrile’s constitutional right to a “speedy trial” was violated.
“With this case pending for over 30 years and possibly more without assurance of its resolution, the Court recognizes that the tactical disadvantages carried by the passage of time should be weighed against petitioner Republic and in favor of the respondents,” the decision read in part.
“Due to the violation of the constitutional right to speedy disposition of cases, the Ombudsman is hereby ordered to DISMISS the Complaint for violation of Republic Act No. 3019 docketed as OMB-0-90-2808 against respondents Jose C. Concepcion, Rolando Dela Cuesta, Juan Ponce Enrile, Narciso M. Pineda, and Danilo S. Ursua,” it added.
The SC noted that the Office of the Solicitor General (OSG) filed the case in February 1990 before the Ombudsman for allegedly siphoning funds from the Coconut Industry Development Fund (CIDF) to the Agricultural Investors Inc. (AII), a corporation owned by tycoon Eduardo Cojuangco Jr., worth P840 million.
The decision was penned by SC Associate Justice Ramon Paul Hernando.
