The Sandiganbayan will proceed with the graft trial of Iloilo City Rep. Jerry Treñas over the construction of Iloilo Press Club (IPC) building when he was mayor in 2003. In a 14-page resolution dated March 9, the court’s Seventh Division denied Treñas’ motion to dismiss the case on the ground of inordinate delay in the Ombudsman’s investigation. The antigraft court said the five years taken by the Ombudsman was “not capricious, oppressive and vexatious to the accused.”ADVERTISEMENTThe said period was counted from the filing of complaint of lawyer Raul Gonzales Jr. on Nov. 12, 2012, up to the filing of charges in the Sandiganbayan on Nov. 7, 2017. The case involved Treñas’ use of Sen. Loren Legarda’s pork barrel allocations in favor of IPC despite it not being an accredited nongovernment organization at the time. —Vince F. Nonato

Source: Philippine Daily Inquirer March 18, 2018 23:03 UTC