The Sandiganbayan has moved to November 7 the arraignment and pre-trial of former Energy Secretary Alfonso Cusi and others after granting the prosecution’s urgent motion to amend the information related to the 2019 takeover of the Malampaya gas project.
During Wednesday’s hearing, the anti-graft court’s Third Division gave the prosecution, under the Office of the Ombudsman, 30 days to submit the amended information.
Before granting the motion, the Sandiganbayan also declared moot the respondents’ motion seeking to invalidate the charges against Cusi and the other accused.
The charges against Cusi and others involve their alleged roles in railroading the sale of 45 percent of shares of the Malampaya gas project to a company owned by Davao businessman Dennis Uy.
The anti-graft court explained that the respondents’ motion to quash was anchored on the information dated November 24 of last year.
It added that resolving the motion to quash at this stage would be premature, because the prosecution has the right to file a motion to amend the information-a point that the defense later conceded.
Asked why it took a year to file the motion, the prosecution panel said the case was only assigned to them last month.
While the motion had already been drafted on September 23, it was formally filed only on Tuesday, as the panel needed to subpoena several documents to prepare a memorandum supporting the motion to amend the information.
Before the deferment of their arraignment, Cusi and 10 other former and present Department of Energy officials posted bail of P90,000 each for their graft charges on September 10.
Last August, Partido Demokratiko Pilipino-Lakas ng Bayan (PDP-Laban) confirmed that its vice chairperson, Cusi, had been indicted by the Office of the Ombudsman in connection with the Malampaya project.
PDP Deputy Spokesperson Ferdinand Topacio earlier said one count of graft had been filed against Cusi and several others before the Sandiganbayan.
The Ombudsman’s probe involving Department of Energy (DOE) officials began in 2022, following a Senate committee on energy report on the sale of shares in the Malampaya project.
According to the report, the DOE allegedly railroaded the approval of the $545-million sale of a 45-percent stake in Malampaya to UC Malampaya, despite the buyer’s failure to pass the financial capability test and to submit audited financial statements.
While the Ombudsman initially dismissed the graft complaint in 2022 for lack of evidence, it reversed its decision in 2024 and found probable cause to indict Cusi and several DOE officials.
Cusi was also recently affirmed by the Supreme Court as the legitimate president of PDP-Laban, the political party of former President Rodrigo Duterte.