SAMAL, Bataan—The Sandiganbayan Special Second Division has dismissed a graft case against former Bataan governor Ding Roman because of the “inordinate delay” of 11 years by the Office of the Ombudsman in investigating the case, according to Roman’s lawyer.
Atty. Jay Consunji, a native of this town, told Manila Standard the case stemmed from the construction of a mini-theater at the Bataan State College, which was filed last year against Roman and several others.
In a resolution passed on Dec. 14, the Sandiganbayan granted Roman’s appeal to void the charge sheet because his right to a speedy case disposition was violated, Consunji said.
The lawyer said the Sandiganbayan granted their urgent motion to quash information and dismissed the case against Roman and his co-accused.
“This court cannot ignore the prejudice against the accused caused by the lengthy delay of years in the conduct of the preliminary investigation proceedings and determination of probable cause. The unreasonable length of time will cause tactical disadvantages to the accused, especially on the preparation of his defense,” the lawyer said, quoting a portion of the resolution.
“Based on the above-mentioned factors, this court finds that there was inordinate delay in the proceedings and that the constitutional right to speedy disposition of cases of the accused has been violated,” the resolution added.
Consunji said they filed their motion in October, arguing it had been almost 12 years from the filing of the complaint before the Ombudsman in 2004 up to the Supreme Court’s final ruling on the issue of probable cause last August.