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BINASTED ng Korte Suprema ang lahat ng kaso laban sa mga tagapagmana at in-laws ng yumaong si dating Pangulong Ferdinand E. Marcos dahil sa kawalan ng matibay na ebidensiya kasabay ng pagkastigo sa mga prosecutor ng Presidential Commission on Good Government (PCGG) at Office of the Solicitor General (CSG) dahil sa palpak na mga ebidensiya at kaduda-dudang paghawak ng kaso.
Kaugnay ito sa P200 bilyon hinihinalang ill-gotten wealth at akusasyong paggamit sa IBC-13; BBC-2 at RPN-9; dollar salting gamit ang De Soleil Apparel; at pagkuha sa Pantranco North Express, Inc. (Pantranco) na pawang ibinasura ng Korte Suprema.
Sa desisyong isinulat ni Justice Maria P. A. Sereno na sinang-ayunan ng iba pang justices sa Second Division kabilang sina Arturo Brion, Martin Villarama, Jr., at Bienvenido L. Reyes, nilinaw ng Korte Suprema na hindi sinunod ng mga prosecutor ang “best evidence rule” kaya’t pinagduduhan ang proseso na ginamit ng PCGG at OSG.
“However, despite having the expansive resources of government, the members of the prosecution did not even bother to provide any reason whatsoever for their failure to present the original documents or the witnesses to support the government’s claims. Even worse was presenting in evidence a photocopy of the TSN of the PCGG proceedings instead of the original, or a certified true copy of the original, which the prosecutors themselves should have had in their custody. Such manner of legal practice deserves the reproof of this Court. We are constrained to call attention to this apparently serious failure to follow a most basic rule in law, given the special circumtances surrounding this case,” pagsipi sa desisyon ng Korte Suprema na inilabas noon pang Pebrero 8, 2012 pero nakapagtatakang hindi nailabas sa media.
Nilinaw sa desisyon na nanatiling defendants ang mga anak at in-laws ng dating Pangulo na sina Imee Marcos-Manotoc at Bongbong Marcos at maging ang mag-asawang sina Irene Marcos at Gregorio Araneta III—na iniabsuelto ng Korte Suprema.
“With regards to the siblings Imee Marcos- Manotoc and Bongbong Marcos, Jr, the court noted that their involvement in the alleged illegal activities was never established. In fact, they were never mentioned by any of the witnesses presented. Neither did the documentary evidence pinpoint any specific involvement of the Marcos Children,” pagdidiin sa naturang desisyon.
“In the matter of the spouses Irene Marcos and Gregorio Araneta III, the court similarly held that there was no testimonial or documentary evidence that supported petitioner’s allegations against the couple.
Again, petitioner failed to present the original documents that supposedly supported the allegations against them. Instead, it merely presented photocopies of documents that sought to prove how the Marcoses used the Potencianos as dummies in acquiring and operating the bus company Pantranco,” pagsipi pa sa desisyon.
Binigyan-diin sa desisyon na kinikilala ng korte sina Imelda Romualdez Marcos at Ferdinand Jr., ang executor at defendants sa kaso na kailangan silang protektahan at makatikim ng due process. Dahil dito, hindi maipagkakait ang kanilang karapatan na protektahan, ingatan at ipagtanggol ang ari-arian at kayamanan na naiwan ng dating Pangulo, maliban na lamang kung nagku-kusa sila na mag- “waive” ng kanilang karapatan pabor sa estado.
“Since the pending case before the Sandiganbayan survives the death of Ferdinand E. Marcos, it is imperative therefore that the estate be duly represented. The purpose behind this rule is the protection of the right to due process of every party to a litigation who may be affected by the intervening death. The deceased litigant is himself protected, as he continues to properly represented in the suit through the duly appointed legal representative of his estate. On that note, we take judicial notice of the probate proceedings regarding the will of Ferdinand E. Marcos. In Republic of the Philippines vs Marcos II, we upheld the grant by the the Regional Trial Court (RTC) of letters testamentary in solidum to Ferdinand R. Marcos, Jr., and Imelda Romualdez Marcos as executors of the last will and testament of the lare Ferdinand E. Marcos,“paglilinaw ng Korte Suprema.
“Unless the executors of the Marcos estate or heirs are ready to waive in favor of the state their right to defend or protect the estate or those properties found to be ill-gotten in their possession, control or ownership, then they may not be dropped as defendants in the civil case pending before the Sandiganbayan.”
Kinatigan din ng SC ang desisyon ng Sandiganbayan, may petsang Disyembre 5, 2005 na kumikilala sa mga naulila ng pangulo bilang lehitimong defendants sa kaso at pinaiimbestigahan sa Malacañang ang kaduda-dudang proseso ng prosekusyon.
“Wherefore, in view of the foregoing, the petition is PARTIALLY GRANTED. The assailed Sandiganbayan Resolution dated 6 December 2005 is AAFIRMED with modification. For the reasons stated herein, respondents Imee Marcos-Manotoc, Irene Marcos Araneta, and Ferdinand R. Marcos, Jr., shall be maintained as defendants in Civil Case No. 0002 pending before the Sandiganbayan,” wika sa huling bahagi ng desisyon.
“Let a copy of this Decision be furnished to the Office of the President so that it may look into the circumstances of this case and determine the liability, if any, of the lawyers of the Office of the Solicitor General and the Presidential Commission on Good Government in the manner by which this case was handled in the Sandiganbayan. SO ORDERED.”
HATAW News Team
