THE Court of Appeals reversed the decision of former President Benigno Aquino III in 2013 to dismiss Ombudsman Special Prosecutor Wendell Barreras-Sulit for entering into a plea bargaining agreement with former military comptroller Major General Carlos Garcia.
The CA’s Special Tenth Division through Associate Justice Zenaida Galapate-Laguilles ordered the reinstatement of Sulit, Aquino erred when he dismissed Sulit from the service because the plea bargaining agreement was lawful and “does not violate existing rules and jurisprudence.”
The appellate court noted that Sulit entered into the plea bargaining agreement on her own but under the direct supervision of then Ombudsman Merceditas Gutierrez. The CA pointed out that the Ombudsman is allowed to enter into a plea bargaining agreement under Section 11 of the Ombudsman Act of 1989.
