Andaya arraignment moved to July 12

The Sandiganbayan on Friday postponed to July 12 arraignment of Camarines Sur Rep. Rolando Andaya Jr. in connection with the alleged P900-million Malampaya fund scam.

The court postponed the arraignment because of Andaya's pending petition at the Supreme Court to stop the trial.

Andaya's defense lawyers told the court's Third Division that he has filed a petition for certiorari, with a prayer for a temporary restraining order, with the SC to stop the trial owing to certain defects in the Ombudsman's appreciation of the case that led it to file the case in court.

The prosecution, for its part, asked for 10 days to file its comment on the petition.

Division chief Presiding Justice Amparo Cabotaje-Tang deferred the formal reading of charges against Andaya on July 12 at 8:30 a.m. which is transferable unless the SC issues a TRO.

The Ombudsman earlier opposed the plea of Andaya for the Sandiganbayan to dismiss the graft and malversation charges filed against him in connection with the alleged P900-million Malampaya fund scam.

In a 15-page opposition filed on April 10, Ombudsman prosecutors said Andaya's motion for reconsideration should be denied as the plea was filed beyond the five-day period reglementary period stated under the Guidelines for Continuous Trial.

Andaya earlier filed a motion to dismiss the cases but the anti-graft court denied his plea, thus Andaya filed a motion for reconsideration.

Andaya only filed his motion for reconsideration in late March when the resolution denying his original motion to dismiss was promulgated on March 6, the Ombudsman said. 

But even if Andaya filed the motion for reconsideration on time, the Ombudsman said the MR should still be dismissed “based on the merits” because he raised the same assertions from his denied motion.

In his motion for reconsideration, Andaya said the information containing the 97 counts each of graft and malversation through falsification filed against him is "fatally defective" as “it failed to show how I participated in the scheme.”

The court, however, has already ruled on the validity of the charges, saying all matters on the alleged role of Andaya in the scheme are best presented during the trial, the Ombudsman said.