July 2012 - Philippine Supreme Court Resolutions

Philippine Supreme Court Resolutions

Philippine Supreme Court Resolutions > Year 2012 > July 2012 Resolutions > [G.R. No. 192802 : July 04, 2012] H. HARRY L. ROQUE, JR., TEOFISTO GUINGONA, JR., MA. DOMINGA B. PADILLA, ROEL GARCIA, AND BEBU BELCHAND v. OFFICE OF THE OMBUDSMAN, GLORIA MACAPAGAL-ARROYO, AND JOSE MIGUEL ARROYO.:

SECOND DIVISION

[G.R. No. 192802 : July 04, 2012]

H. HARRY L. ROQUE, JR., TEOFISTO GUINGONA, JR., MA. DOMINGA B. PADILLA, ROEL GARCIA, AND BEBU BELCHAND v. OFFICE OF THE OMBUDSMAN, GLORIA MACAPAGAL-ARROYO, AND JOSE MIGUEL ARROYO.

Sirs/Mesdames:

Please take notice that the Court, Second Division, issued a Resolution dated 04 July 2012 which reads as follows:cralaw

G.R. No. 192802 (H. Harry L. Roque, Jr., Teofisto Guingona, Jr., Ma. Dominga B. Padilla, Roel Garcia, and Bebu Belchand v. Office of the Ombudsman, Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, and Jose Miguel Arroyo); G.R. No. 192811 (Atty. Ernesto B. Francisco, Jr. v. Office of the Ombudsman, Atty. Jose Miguel T. Arroyo, Atty. Benjamin S. Abalos, Sr., Leandro B. Mendoza, Atty. Lorenzo Formosa, Elmer Soneja, Yu Yong, George Zhu Ying, Fan Yang, Hou Weigui and John and Jane Does). � In these consolidated Petitions for Certiorari,^[1] petitioners H. Harry L. Roque, Jr., Teofisto Guingona, Jr., Ma. Dominga B. Padilla, Roel Garcia, Bebu Belchand, and Ernesto B. Francisco seek the reversal of the 21 April 2009 Joint Resolution^[2] of the Office of the Ombudsman. Specifically, the Joint Resolution ordered the dismissal of the case against respondents Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, Jose Miguel Arroyo, Leandro B. Mendoza, Lorenzo Formoso, Elmer Soneja, Yu Yong, George Zhu Ying, Fan Yang, Hou Weigui and John and Jane Does.

The dispositive portion of the said Resolution reads:

WHEREFORE, foregoing considered, the undersigned panel members respectfully recommend the following:
1) That an Information for violation of Corruption of Public Officials under Article 212 of the Revised Penal Code be filed against BENJAMIN S. ABALOS with the Metropolitan Trial Court of Mandaluyong City and another Information for violation of Section 3(H) of Republic Act 3019 be filed against him before the Sandiganbayan;
2. That an Information for violation of Section 3(H) of Republic Act 3019 be filed against respondent ROMULO L. NERI before the Sandiganbayan;
3. That the criminal complaints against respondents JOSE MIGUEL ARROYO, JOSE DE VENECIA JR., JOSE DE VENECIA III, LEANDRO B. MENDOZA, LORENZO FORMOSO, ELMER SONEJA, YU YONG, GEORGE ZHU YING, FAN YAN, HOU WEIGUI, be DISMISSED for LACK of PROBABLE CAUSE.
SO RESOLVED.^[3]

Petitioners accuse the foregoing respondents of violating Republic Act (R.A.) No. 3019, the Revised Penal Code, Presidential Decree No. 1829, Executive Order (E.O.) No. 317, and R.A. 6713.

Petitioners claim that the aforementioned private individuals and government officials engaged in corrupt practices, committing illegal acts to ensure that the contract for the supply of equipment and services for the implementation of the National Broadband Network (NBN) project of the Government be awarded to Zhing Xing Telecommunications Equipment (ZTE) Corporation, even if the latter's offer was disadvantageous to the government, and the other submitted applications proposed better terms.

The Court notes that numerous Complaints regarding the aforementioned subject matter are pending with the Office of the Ombudsman. The multiplicity of these Complaints can introduce unwarranted complications to the resolution of the present Petitions, which the Court seeks to avoid.

To guide this Court in rendering a just and timely decision, the Office of the Ombudsman is directed to submit a list of the Complaints filed in both the Office of the Ombudsman and the Sandiganbayan as of 1 July 2012, involving respondents herein, as well as their alleged participation in the award of the NBN project to ZTE Corporation.

This list should include the names of petitioners and respondents in each case; the charges filed against respondents; the current status of each case, specifically which of them are currently pending or have been dismissed as to all or some of the respondents.

The Office of the Ombudsman is directed to submit the required list to this Court within 15 days from receipt of this Resolution.cralaw

WHEREFORE, the Office of the Ombudsman is hereby DIRECTED to SUBMIT to this Court, within fifteen (15) days from its receipt of this Resolution, a list of all the Complaints it received, as of 1 July 2012, against Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, Jose Miguel Arroyo, Leandro B. Mendoza, Lorenzo Formoso, Elmer Soneja, Yu Yong, George Zhu Ying, Fan Yan, and/or Hou Weigui, with respect to their participation in the Republic of the Philippines' award of the National Broadband Network project to Zhing Xing Telecommunications Equipment Corporation and the status of each Complaint.

Very truly yours,

(Sgd.) TERESITA AQUINO TUAZON
Deputy Division Clerk of Court

Endnotes:

^[1] Rollo (G.R. No. 192802), pp. 3-57; and rollo (G.R. No. 192811), pp. 3-178.
^[2] Rollo (G.R. No. 192811), pp. 179-322; OMB-C-C-08-0040-B, OMB-C-C-08-0039-B, OMB-C-C-08-0038-B, OMB-C-C-08-0041-B, OMB-C-C-08-0041-B, OMB-C-C-08-0037-B, OMB-C-C-08-0036-B, and OMB-C-C-07-0397-I, decided by Director Caesar D. Asuncion; Deputy Special Prosecutors Jesus A. Micael and Robert E. Kallos; Assistant Ombudsman Rodolfo M. Elman; and Chairperson Emilio A. Gonzales III, Deputy of the Ombudsman for the Military and Other Law Enforcement Offices.

^[3] Rollo (G.R. No. 192811), pp. 321-322.

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