TABUK CITY, Kalinga – The 6th Division of the Sandiganbayan dismissed the graft charges that were earlier filed against Mayor Darwin C. Estran͂ero by the Office of the Ombudsman after granting the latter’s motion to withdraw information following its decision to reverse its decision on the said cases for lack of probable cause.
Last February 16, 2024, the Office of the Ombudsman granted Mayor Darwin C. Estran͂ero’s motion for partial reconsideration and dismissed the violation of the pertinent provisions of Republic Act (RA) 3918 or the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act charges that were filed against him paving the way for his reporting back to work effective April 1, 2024.
In an 11-page consolidated order penned by Assistant Special Prosecutor III Lyn G. Dimayuga and approved by Ombudsman Samuel R. Martires, it pointed out that the allegation of the complainants of overpricing in the city government’s purchase of medical supplies and devices at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic was not adequately established in the eight cases that were filed.
The charge against the mayor stemmed from the supposed overprice purchase of medical equipment and supplies by the local government at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic where a national health emergency was declared.
The Sandiganbayan, in a 7-page resolution promulgated on April 23, 2024, stated that it made a careful re-examination of the evidence attached to the Office of the Ombudsman’s consolidated resolution but found no such comparison.
“It appears that the conclusion that the subject items were grossly overpriced is based solely on the difference between the contract prices and the price ceilings for similar items set in the suggested retail price list of the Department of Health (DOH) Memorandum No. 2020-144 dated March 20, 2020, thus, such evidence is insufficient, and the withdrawal of the information is warranted,” the Sandiganbayan’s resolution stressed.
The mayor was charged with entering into contracts with various suppliers for the purchase of grossly overpriced items.
The Sandiganbayan referred to the case of Macairan versus People where it was held by that in assessing if there was overpricing, there should be a specific comparison with items of the same brand, features and specifications as those of the items subject of the questioned transactions.
In its compliance to the earlier resolution of the Sandiganbayan that ordered the Office of the Ombudsman to resolve Mayor Estran͂ero’s motion for partial reconsideration, it submitted the ombudsman’s consolidated order granting Estran͂ero’s motion for partial reconsideration of its earlier ruling in dismissing the cases against him.
The resolution was signed by Presiding Chairperson Associate Justice Sarah Jane T. Fernandez and members Associate Justices Karl B. Miranda and Kevin Narce B. Viviero.
Mayor Estranero welcomed the Sandiganbayan’s ruling, urging his critics to respect the said decision similar to the respect that he accorded to the cases that were filed against him. “We feel vindicated from the purported allegations that have been hurled against me and my fellow officials of the local government. It is high time that we now move on from here so that we will be able to sustain the gains of the local government and bring Tabuk to greater heights in the future,” Mayor Estran͂ero stressed. By Dexter A. See
