The anti-graft court Sandiganbayan dismissed on Wednesday the petition of a former Presidential Commission on Good Government (PCGG) lawyer seeking the reopening of a case by allowing business tycoon Lucio Tan's brother Mariano Tanenglian to testify against him and prove that his assets are owned by the Marcoses.
In a six-page resolution penned by Associate Justice Roland Jurado, the anti-graft court denied the reopening of the trial of the case for lack of merit.
The Sandiganbayan said that former PCGG lawyer Catalino Generillo is not a real party in interest and has no legal personality anymore to represent the case after he was sacked by the government to act as lawyer for the case.
"It bears emphasis that Atty. Generillo is not the real party in interest in the instant case. He has no legal personality to ask for a reopening of the trial as he does not stand to be benefited or be prejudiced by the judgment in the instant suit. Neither is he the party entitled to the avails of the suit. Hence, the Motion for Reopening of Trial must be denied," the ruling of the anti-graft court said.
It stressed that Generillo "cannot claim ownership over the (documents of the said case) as the said works are the result of the performance of his regularly-assigned duties, hence, ownership belongs to his employer, the PCGG."
The Sandiganbayan also dismissed the motion for reconsideration filed by Generillo seeking that the motion for partial summary judgment be allowed.
It ruled that the issue has long been resolved by them as early as March 17, 2008.
The anti-graft court justices led by Associate Justice Jurado, along with Associate Justices Teresita Diaz-Baldos and Napoleon Inoturan, denied the prayer of Generillo that they must recuse themselves from handling the case for there is no legal grounds to allow it.
It stressed that they are not relatives of any lawyer or litigants to the case or acted as guardian or executor in the present case.
Thus, it said, the plea for inhibition has no leg to stand on.
"Not one of the above instances is present which would warrant the inhibition of the magistrates in the instant case. Hence, the Respectful Motion for Inhibition must be denied," it said.
It can be recalled that Generillo was relieved by then Solicitor General Agnes Devanadera in handling the case against Tan after the Sandigan-bayan ordered the prose-cution to terminate its presentation of evidence, junking its motion that sought for more time to present more witnesses.
Generillo recently said that with Tanenglian's testimony, it would open the doors against Tan and to turn the wheels of justice.
He claimed that Tanenglian is a competent state witness against his brother because he was an "insider" because of his knowledge of the alleged deals between Tan and the late dictator Ferdinand Marcos.
Generillo further said that Tanenglian himself made transactions with Marcos.
He pointed out that Tanenglian was ready to testify that Lucio Tan "is a mere trustee or agent" of Marcos.
The Marcoses claimed that they owned 60 percent of the corporations of Tan.
But the government and the Marcoses cannot produce the originals of the documents supposedly proving that business tycoon Tan acted as a "dummy" for the late president.
The corporations owned by Tan which were allegedly claimed by the Marcoses are Fortune Tobacco Corp., Asia Brewery Inc., Allied Banking Corp., Foremost Farms, Himmel Industries Inc., Grandspan Development Corp., Silangan Holdings Inc., Dominium Realty and Construction Corp. and Shareholdings Inc.
Source:
The Mindanao Daily Mirror
February 11, 2010
http://www.dailymirror.ph/Feb-2010/Feb1110/nat1.html
In a six-page resolution penned by Associate Justice Roland Jurado, the anti-graft court denied the reopening of the trial of the case for lack of merit.
The Sandiganbayan said that former PCGG lawyer Catalino Generillo is not a real party in interest and has no legal personality anymore to represent the case after he was sacked by the government to act as lawyer for the case.
"It bears emphasis that Atty. Generillo is not the real party in interest in the instant case. He has no legal personality to ask for a reopening of the trial as he does not stand to be benefited or be prejudiced by the judgment in the instant suit. Neither is he the party entitled to the avails of the suit. Hence, the Motion for Reopening of Trial must be denied," the ruling of the anti-graft court said.
It stressed that Generillo "cannot claim ownership over the (documents of the said case) as the said works are the result of the performance of his regularly-assigned duties, hence, ownership belongs to his employer, the PCGG."
The Sandiganbayan also dismissed the motion for reconsideration filed by Generillo seeking that the motion for partial summary judgment be allowed.
It ruled that the issue has long been resolved by them as early as March 17, 2008.
The anti-graft court justices led by Associate Justice Jurado, along with Associate Justices Teresita Diaz-Baldos and Napoleon Inoturan, denied the prayer of Generillo that they must recuse themselves from handling the case for there is no legal grounds to allow it.
It stressed that they are not relatives of any lawyer or litigants to the case or acted as guardian or executor in the present case.
Thus, it said, the plea for inhibition has no leg to stand on.
"Not one of the above instances is present which would warrant the inhibition of the magistrates in the instant case. Hence, the Respectful Motion for Inhibition must be denied," it said.
It can be recalled that Generillo was relieved by then Solicitor General Agnes Devanadera in handling the case against Tan after the Sandigan-bayan ordered the prose-cution to terminate its presentation of evidence, junking its motion that sought for more time to present more witnesses.
Generillo recently said that with Tanenglian's testimony, it would open the doors against Tan and to turn the wheels of justice.
He claimed that Tanenglian is a competent state witness against his brother because he was an "insider" because of his knowledge of the alleged deals between Tan and the late dictator Ferdinand Marcos.
Generillo further said that Tanenglian himself made transactions with Marcos.
He pointed out that Tanenglian was ready to testify that Lucio Tan "is a mere trustee or agent" of Marcos.
The Marcoses claimed that they owned 60 percent of the corporations of Tan.
But the government and the Marcoses cannot produce the originals of the documents supposedly proving that business tycoon Tan acted as a "dummy" for the late president.
The corporations owned by Tan which were allegedly claimed by the Marcoses are Fortune Tobacco Corp., Asia Brewery Inc., Allied Banking Corp., Foremost Farms, Himmel Industries Inc., Grandspan Development Corp., Silangan Holdings Inc., Dominium Realty and Construction Corp. and Shareholdings Inc.
Source:
The Mindanao Daily Mirror
February 11, 2010
http://www.dailymirror.ph/Feb-2010/Feb1110/nat1.html
