FORMER Puerto Princesa City Mayor Edward Hagedorn has filed a motion for the dismissal of charges against him for perjury, ethics breach and graft, over his alleged failure to declare his businesses and vehicles in his statement of assets and liabilities and net worth or SALN.
Hagedorn filed an urgent omnibus motion to the Sandiganbayan Fifth Division and sought the dismissal of the cases with prejudice because he had no undeclared wealth in his submitted SALNs, which all indicated the true value of his assets.
The Office of the Special Prosecutor filed nine counts each of perjury and graft against Hagedorn for his failure to declare 59 residential, agricultural, and commercial properties, as well as 45 vehicles—including motorcycles, luxury vehicles such as a Volvo, Toyota Landcruiser, a BMW, and other sports utility vehicles.
In their motion, Hagedorn’s lawyers said the anti-graft court should note their client “never under-declared the value of his assets; has no undeclared wealth and all disclosures in his SALNs indicate an accurate value of his assets.”
Hagedorn said the allegation that he misdeclared his wealth was “false,” especially because he filed a separate attachment to his SALN, which sufficiently complied with the required truthful disclosure of wealth.
Hagedorn said he had divested his shares in the corporations he allegedly did not disclose in his SALNs, by executing deeds of trust in favor of his grandchildren.
He said he should not be prosecuted for not declaring his motorcycles in his SALN because these were raffled off to his constituents and thus he no longer owned them.
“He has no reason to maintain or hoard a fleet of motorcycles,” Hagedorn’s lawyers said.
Hagedorn said he only had “good faith” in not declaring all his cars in his SALN, because these were no longer operable or roadworthy and were already “scrap” and thus had no value.
He said the facts in the information did not charge a criminal offense, because there was no allegation the SALNs were under oath and subscribed before competent officers.
He also cited the allegedly unreasonable delay of the Office of the Ombudsman in investigating the case before its filing to the Sandiganbayan, which he claimed violated his constitutional right to a speedy disposition of cases.
“The preliminary investigation of these cases lasted for at least three years and five months, more or less,” Hagedorn said. “The Rules of Court provides that preliminary investigation should be terminated within 60 days only.”
