Ched Rick Gatchalian

Article (news)

Sandiganbayan orders Cainta court to proceed with graft trial vs ex-ARTA officials

Job Manahan

ABS-CBN News

MANILA – The Sandiganbayan has ordered the regional trial court of Cainta to proceed with the trial of former Anti-Red Tape Authority (ARTA) Director General Jeremiah Belgica and four other former officials, a document has shown.In a 31-page ruling promulgated on Oct. 9, the Sandiganbayan Sixth Division dismissed the motions for reconsideration filed by Belgica, former Deputy Director General Eduardo Bringas, former Division Chief Sheryl Pura-Sumagui, and former directors Jedrek Ng and Melamy Salvadora-Asperin for lack of merit.The former ARTA officials sought to overturn the court’s August 2025 decision, saying the Sandiganbayan “erred in ruling that no prejudicial question exists in relation to the Newsnet and NOW Tel cases” – both of which are still pending at the Supreme Court.Its resolution, they said, would ultimately determine whether the criminal action could proceed.<div><a class="fr-green fr-strong" href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/business/06/05/22/arta-chief-suspended-for-6-months-over-dito-complaint">Ombudsman suspends ARTA chief for 6-months over DITO complaint</a></div>But in its resolution, the anti-graft court rejected the argument, maintaining that no prejudicial question justified halting the trial.“As this court discussed at length in the assailed Decision, the issues in the criminal case and those in the Newsnet and Now Tel cases are not intimately related. Thus, there is no ground for suspending the proceedings on the basis of prejudicial question,” the Sandiganbayan said.The former ARTA officials were also accused of backing NOW Telecom when ARTA granted the 3G mobile frequencies through orders of automatic approval (OAA) even if the National Telecommunications Commission (NTC) already assigned this to DITO Telecommunity.According to the prosecutors, NOW Tel was not qualified to get the frequencies amid unpaid Supervision and Regulation Fees (SRF) and Spectrum User Fees (SUF).But the former ARTA officials said even if NOW Tel had outstanding obligations, “NTC is estopped from claiming otherwise because it assigned frequencies to other companies which are similarly situated; it extended NOW Tel&#x27;s provisional authority; and, NTC assigned NOW Tel frequencies, albeit different from those applied for.”“The said circumstances will lead to the conclusion that NTC&#x27;s inaction was what triggered the application of the automatic approval clause, not the accused&#x27;s positive act,” the document read.They also emphasized that the criminal case and the petitions at the High Court were similar issues, noting that “the regularity of the issuance of an OAA is intrinsically tied to the proper exercise of ARTA’s authority.”The anti-graft court, however, denied the arguments.<div><a class="fr-green fr-strong" href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/business/06/05/22/arta-chief-suspended-for-6-months-over-dito-complaint">Ombudsman suspends ARTA chief for 6-months over DITO complaint</a></div>“The rest of the issues raised by the respondents in their respective Motions for Reconsideration were either already addressed in the assailed Decision, or are merely substantial reiterations or a rehash of their previous arguments in their respective comments/oppositions to the Petition for Certiorari,” the decision read.“These had already been considered by the Court, and were found to be without merit. It is unnecessary to discuss them anew… Branch 141 of the RTC in Cainta, Rizal is directed to immediately continue the proceedings,” it added.The decision was penned by Sandiganbayan Associate Justice Sarah Jane T. Fernandez. Associate Justices Kevin Vivero and Lord Villanueva concurred with the decision.

The Sandiganbayan has ordered the regional trial court of Cainta to proceed with the trial of former Anti-Red Tape Authority (ARTA) Director General Jeremiah Belgica and four other former officials, a document has shown.

The Sandiganbayan has ordered the regional trial court of Cainta to proceed with the trial of former Anti-Red Tape Authority (ARTA) Director General Jeremiah Belgica and four other former officials, a document has shown.