THE graft court found initial basis to sustain the guilty verdict against former Naga City mayor Valdemar Chiong.
The Sandiganbayan Sixth Division has junked the motion for leave to file demurrer to evidence of Chiong over the alleged unlawful issuance of a mayor’s permit to a petroleum gas company in 2014.
But Chiong, who is running for city mayor in this year’s midterm elections, is confident that he will be cleared of the charges against him.
In a resolution dated Dec. 13, the Sandiganbayan junked the motion filed by Chiong’s camp and found sufficient evidence to support a guilty verdict against him.
“After a careful study of the documentary and testimonial evidence presented by the prosecution, the Court finds that, if unrebutted, the same is sufficient to support a verdict of guilt against accused Valdemar M. Chiong for violation of Section 3 (e) of Republic Act 3019,” stated the Sandiganbayan ruling.
Following the denial of his motion, Chiong has been ordered by the Sandiganbayan to present his evidence or file a demurrer to evidence without leave of court.
If approved by the Sandiganbayan, Chiong would have been able to ask the court to dismiss the case due to lack of sufficient evidence.
But Chiong, in a separate interview, said he sees no problem in the Sandiganbayan’s decision to deny his motion.
Chiong told SunStar Cebu that with their motion dismissed, they have been given the chance to present their evidence to prove that his issuance of a mayor’s permit to Petronas in 2014 was done legally.
On his administrative liabilities, Chiong continues to appeal them before the Court of Appeals.
He said they were able to secure the affidavit of desistance from Darwin Sarraga, the vice president of Pryce Gases Inc., and the private complainant of the case.
Sarraga earlier said he is no longer interested in pursuing the case against Chiong after he acknowledged that a Fire Safety Inspection Certification (FSIC) was issued to Petronas, which was considered their business rival in Naga then.
Back in 2017, then Ombudsman Conchita Carpio-Morales found Chiong guilty for violating the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act and even perpetually barred him from working again in government.
This stemmed from a complaint filed against him by Pryce Gases Inc. which claimed that Chiong issued a conditional mayor’s permit to Petronas even though the firm failed to present its FSIC.
But Chiong contended that he issued the conditional business permit to Petronas as it was still awaiting its FSIC from the Bureau of Fire Protection, which it complied eventually. (JKV)