The Office of the Ombudsman asked one of the justices of the Sandiganbayan Third Division to inhibit himself from the malversation case trial of former Sen. Bong Revilla over alleged bias.
In a 69-page motion obtained by Inquirer on Tuesday, the Office of the Special Prosecutor asked Associate Justice Ronald Moreno to voluntarily inhibit from the case, citing ‘unwarranted conduct’ against prosecution’s witnesses against Revilla.
Revilla faces a malversation of public funds case for being an alleged co-conspirator in the illegal disbursement of P76.9 million for the purported ghost flood control project of the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) in Pandi, Bulacan worth P92.8 million, supposedly in exchange for a 25-percent cut.
‘Justice Moreno’s partial attitude against the prosecution witnesses, and his statements in open court suggesting that there is no evidence against accused Revilla as proponent in the infrastructure project subject of this case … are indicative of partiality and bias against the prosecution,’ the motion, filed by prosecutors on Monday, stated.
Prosecutors also said ‘Justice Moreno’s demeanor and questions to the witnesses were apparently unfair, unreasonable, disrespectful, and lacking in judicial restraint.’
They also noted as one of the reasons for recusal is Moreno’s ‘sheer number of questions’ he asks of witnesses during the bail hearings ‘which is more than the questions of the lawyers of all the seven accused individuals combined.’
Prosecutors specifically cited the number of questions Moreno asked during the testimony of state witnesses – former DPWH Undersecretary Roberto Bernardo, former DPWH district engineer Henry Alcantara, and SYMS Construction’s Sally Santos.
During the testimonies of Bernardo, Alcantara and Santos, they said Moreno asked 290, 210 and 430 questions, respectively.
On the other hand, the prosecutors said defense lawyers only asked a total of 210, 190, and about 170 questions to Bernardo, Alcantara and Santos, respectively.
Citing the Supreme Court case, prosecutors noted that ‘[o]rdinarily it is not a good practice for the presiding judge himself to examine witnesses at length.’
‘[I]n conducting a lengthy examination, it would be almost impossible for the judge to preserve a judicial attitude,’ the resolution said.
Nevertheless, the prosecution stressed that the motion ‘is not intended to question the integrity, competence, or good faith’ of Moreno.
‘Rather, it is being filed to preserve the fundamental right of every litigant to have his or her case resolved by a tribunal whose impartiality is beyond reasonable question.
Moreno voted to allow Revilla to post P1 million bail, along with Associate Justice Fritz Bryn Delos Santos.
On the other hand, Associate Justice Karl Miranda, chairperson of the Third Division, voted against it./