By NITZ ARANCON, Correspondent
THE 2nd Division of the Sandiganbayan has denied city engineer Rolando Pacuribot’s motions to defer his arraignment in connection with three graft cases that stemmed from the capitol’s act of renting heavy equipment during the years when he served as provincial engineer under the then governor Oscar Moreno.
The anti-graft court’s resolutions, issued on April 29, 2019, denied Pacuribot’s motions even as it ruled that the engineer’s claims that his rights were violated and that there was “inordinate delay” in his case were baseless.
The Sandiganbayan’s resolutions mean that the arraignment would proceed, and Pacuribot would soon stand on trial before the anti-graft court.
The resolutions were signed by Associate Justice Oscar Herrera Jr. who served as chairperson, and Associate Justices Michael Frederick Musngi Lorifel Pahimna.
Engr. Pacuribot is one of the accused in the graft cases filed by the Office of the Ombudsman in connection with the capitol use of some P3.9 million to rent heavy equipment owned by Equiprent Corp. from Jan. 1, 2009 to June 2009, and from Aug. 1, 2009 to Aug. 30, 2009.
Pacuribot was also accused of conniving with former capitol officials to rent heavy equipment from the same company for P26,250 on Jan. 6, 2012.
The heavy equipment rentals were made without public biddings, and the ombudsman argued that these were violations of the government’s procurement law.
The others who were accused before the Sandiganbayan are Mayor Moreno and former capitol officials Patrick Gabutina, Elmer Wabe, Divina Bade.
Pacuribot had questioned the ombudsman’s move to bring the cases against him before the Sandiganbayan. In July 2018, he asked the anti-graft court to quash the information about him and dismiss the cases because he constitutional rights were “violated,” including his right to due process because there was “inordinate delay.”
Pacuribot repeated the arguments in another motion to defer arraignment he submitted on Aug. 28, 2018.
The Sandiganbayan however said there was no “inordinate delay” in Pacuribot’s cases –Criminal Case Nos. 0388, 0496 and 0497.
“There was also no violation of accused Pacuribot’s right to due process,” reads part of the Sandiganbayan ruling.
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