GMA GRAFT CASE | Supreme Court upholds Arroyo’s acquittal in NBN-ZTE graft case

March 12, 2021 , 08:39 PM

(March 12, 2021) – The Supreme Court has affirmed the decision of an anti-corruption court dismissing the graft complaint against former president Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo in the multimillion broadband deal with China more than a decade ago.

In a resolution, the high court’s third division said there was no strong basis to reverse the Sandiganbayan’s ruling which granted Arroyo’s petition for demurrer to evidence in 2016.

The high court’s ruling was made on February 23, 2021, but was only made available this week.

“Even if the first trial is not completed, a second prosecution may be grossly unfair,” the high court said in its decision.

“It increases the financial and emotional burden on the accused, prolongs the period in which he is stigmatized by an unresolved accusation of wrongdoing, and may even enhance the risk that an innocent defendant may be convicted.”

The Supreme Court further added: “We adhere to the finality-of-acquittal doctrine, that is, a judgment of acquittal is final and unappealable.”

If the court grants the petition for certiorari filed by the Office of the Special Prosecutor, it might go against Arroyo’s constitutional right, they said.

In 2011, the Office of the Ombudsman said Arroyo committed graft for allowing the government to deal with Zhong Xing Telecommunications Equipment International Investment Limited (ZTE) for a $329-million national broadband network (NBN) project.

The project reportedly cost only $130 million.

Arroyo, who was the president of the country at that time, was also accused of violating Republic Act 6713 or the Code of Conduct and Ethical Standards for Public Officials and Employees when she had lunch and played golf with ZTE officials while the assessment of the project was ongoing at that time.

Prosecutors alleged she received bribes and gifts from this engagement.

But in 2016, Sandiganbayan’s Fourth Division ruled that the prosecution failed to provide sufficient evidence to charge Arroyo for graft regarding the $329-million NBN-ZTE deal. Arroyo filed the demurrer to evidence halfway through the court hearings, compelling the court to evaluate the merits of the case based on the proof presented by the prosecution.

Arroyo has also been acquitted in the other administrative charge given that the court had no territorial jurisdiction for matters that happened outside the Philippines.

Arroyo served as president from 2001 to 2010 and served in the House of Representatives for three terms, rising as Speaker in 2018.

(Beatrice Puente/MM)

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