Group slams appointment of new graft court head
A group composed of martial law victims criticized the recent appointment of Geraldine Faith Econg as the new presiding justice of the Sandiganbayan given her previous record of dismissing cases in relation to the pork barrel scam and the coconut levy fund.
In a statement on Monday, the Campaign Against the Return of the Marcoses and Martial Law (Carmma) pointed out that Econg was one of the justices who chose to dismiss the plunder charges against former Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile.
Econg was appointed by President Marcos as the antigraft court’s new presiding judge in a document dated Jan. 7, replacing Amparo Cabotaje-Tang who retired last Nov. 9.
“The charges [against Enrile] were in relation to the infamous pork barrel scam, where legislators’ Priority Development Assistance Fund (PDAF) were funneled to bogus NGOs (nongovernmental organizations) in exchange for hefty kickbacks,” Carmma said.
In October last year, the Sandiganbayan’s Third Division dismissed the P172.8-million plunder case against Enrile due to insufficient evidence, noting that none of the witnesses testified that they handed or transferred kickbacks directly to the former senator.
Carmma also said Econg was among the Sandiganbayan justices who had acquitted Sen. Bong Revilla of plunder charges also in connection with the PDAF scam.
The Sandiganbayan First Division dismissed the plunder cases against Revilla in 2018 after the prosecution failed to “establish beyond reasonable doubt” that the senator “received, directly or indirectly, the rebates, commission and kickbacks from his PDAF.”
Most recently, Econg also authored the ruling that junked the six coconut levy cases filed against Enrile, former President Ferdinand Marcos Sr. and his wife Imelda, together with other Marcos cronies, said Carmma.
“The coconut levy, a tax imposed on coconut farmers during martial law, was supposed to be used to develop the coconut industry,” according to Carmma.
Judy Taguiwalo, Carmma spokesperson, said that “with Econg now at the helm of the Sandiganbayan, we can expect more dismissals of the Marcoses’ ill-gotten wealth cases.”
