Joselito Malig

Article (news)

Kaxandra Salonga

ABS-CBN News

MANILA — The Sandiganbayan Third Division on Wednesday dismissed the graft case filed against Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) Usec. and former Iloilo City Mayor Jed Mabilog due to inordinate delay.In a resolution penned by Associate Justice Karl Miranda, the anti-graft court granted Mabilog&#x27;s motion to quash and ordered the immediate dismissal of his case.The court also lifted the hold departure order against Mabilog and ordered the release of his bail bond.Mabilog was accused of violating the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act by awarding a Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) to 3L Towering Services for towing and clamping illegally parked vehicles without undergoing competitive bidding.Mabilog argued in his Oct. 10, 2024 motion that the charges lacked basis and that his constitutional right to a speedy disposition of the case had been violated.Although the court ruled that the information sufficiently alleged the elements of the offense charged, it agreed with Mabilog&#x27;s arguments on the prolonged duration of the preliminary investigation.The court noted that almost eight years had passed between the filing of Manuel Mejorada’s original complaint on April 23, 2015, and the filing of the information in court on March 2, 2023.It added that the prosecution failed to provide sufficient justification for the prolonged delays.&quot;It bears emphasis that the Office of the Ombudsman offered no convincing justification or explanation for its failure to file the subject Information immediately,&quot; the resolution read.The court added that the accused raised the issue before his arraignment and that the prosecution failed to prove that Mabilog suffered no prejudice from the delay.Associate Justices Fritz Delos Santos and Zaldy Trespeses concurred with the majority ruling.Meanwhile, Associate Justices Ronald Moreno and Ermin Ernest Louie Miguel registered dissenting opinions which voted to deny the motion to quash.Associate Justice Moreno argued that the prosecution sufficiently explained the institutional delays, which were further prolonged by the COVID-19 pandemic and leadership transitions within the Office of the Ombudsman.Associate Justice Miguel said the court should consider the prosecution’s explanations and the timing of the invocation in assessing the delay.He also noted that the dismissal of a criminal case was an extraordinary remedy.

The Sandiganbayan Third Division on Wednesday dismissed the graft case filed against Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) Usec. and former Iloilo City Mayor Jed Mabilog due to inordinate delay.

The Sandiganbayan Third Division on Wednesday dismissed the graft case filed against Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) Usec. and former Iloilo City Mayor Jed Mabilog due to inordinate delay.

Sandiganbayan dismisses graft case vs. former Iloilo mayor Mabilog due to inordinate delay

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Sandiganbayan dismisses graft case vs. former Iloilo mayor Mabilog due to inordinate delay

Kaxandra Salonga,

ABS-CBN News

Published August 14, 2026 05:57 PM PHT

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Sandiganbayan

Iloilo

graft

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Jed Mabilog

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