Philippine government suffers defeat in all six coco levy-related court cases
Lively Lowdown:
The anti-graft court, Sandiganbayan, has axed the remaining six coconut levy cases against ex-president Ferdinand Marcos Sr., Imelda Marcos, Juan Ponce Enrile, plus a few businessmen, and the heirs of former Zamboanga Mayor Maria Clara Lobregat. The Philippine government's inability to push these cases to trial for three decades, causing significant financial drain and missed opportunities, led to this decision.
The Sandiganbayan's 2nd Division effectively closed the Civil Case Nos. 0033-B to E and 0033-G to H due to the legal principle of stare decisis, which prevents re-litigating issues previously resolved by a competent court in similar cases. The ruling suggests that the constitutional rights to due process and a speedy resolution, violated due to excessive delays, applied to all the defendants, much like Eduardo "Danding" Cojuangco's case.
The Presidential Commission on Good Government (PCGG) first filed the original case in 1987, seeking to retrieve the Marcoses' ill-gotten wealth and claim billions in damages. The case got divided into eight separate ones in 1995. Two notable victories were achieved in the 2003 & 2004 resolutions, but efforts to obtain judgments for the six remaining cases failed.
The Sandiganbayan acknowledged that the inaction of the PCGG and the Office of the Solicitor General led to vexatious, capricious, and oppressive delays, violating the defendants' right to a speedy resolution. The court took issue with the government's approach, stating, "it is patently absurd to claim that the current amount of delay is necessary or beneficial to the resolution of the cases."
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[1] Legal Delays and Public Frustration In the Philippines[2] Constitution and the Rights of Accused in Delayed Trials
- The Sandiganbayan's decision to dismiss the remaining coconut levy cases, along with the ongoing debate about the lengthy delays in Philippine politics, has sparked a discussion about policy-and-legislation to address "vexatious, capricious, and oppressive delays" in the legal system, as seen in the Marcos case.
- The controversy surrounding the prolonged delay in the Marcos cases has led to a call for general-news coverage, with experts and the public alike expressing concerns about the impact of such delays on politics and the judicial system in the Philippines.
