Agusan del Sur mayor's motion to file demurrer denied
By AJ Siytangco
Published Jun 21, 2019 04:59 pm
By Czarina Nicole Ong Ki
The Sandiganbayan Seventh Division has denied the motion for leave to file demurrer to evidence lodged by Trento, Agusan del Sur Mayor Johnmark Billanes for lack of merit.
A demurrer to evidence is an act challenging the prosecution's evidence as insufficient to support a guilty verdict.
(MANILA BULLETIN)
If the court refuses to give permission for an accused to file demurrer, he or she is still free to do so. However, doing so means the defense is waiving its right to present evidence.
Billanes is facing a graft and technical malversation charge due to the alleged irregular P1 million land deal entered into by the municipality with his brother, Romeo Billanes Jr., back in 2012.
The prosecution said that Billanes gave his brother undue advantage because his 7,775 square property located along the national highway of Poblacion in Trento was already identified for purchase even before the land was appraised.
In his motion for leave to file demurrer, Billanes said that the prosecution effectively refuted the existence of evident bad faith on his part when they established the fact that the accused divested himself from any form of participation regarding his brother's offered land.
He added that the prosecution's own witnesses and documentary exhibits refute the claim of manifest partiality when they testified that it was not Billanes who received their offers.
"Until the prosecution establishes that accused-movant should have been aware of the other offers to sell because these were given to him or to his office, accused-movant is not required to prove that he was unaware thereof," his motion read.
Unfortunately for him, the anti-graft court found his motion lacking in merit. "Considering that an examination of the evidence on record at this stage shows that there is sufficient evidence to support the indictment against accused-movant, and his motion has not persuaded the Court otherwise, it is preferable to proceed with the continuation of trial," the resolution read.
The nine-page resolution was penned by Associate Justice Zaldy Trespeses and Chairperson Ma. Theresa Dolores Gomez-Estoesta and Associate Justice Georgina Hidalgo.
(MANILA BULLETIN)
If the court refuses to give permission for an accused to file demurrer, he or she is still free to do so. However, doing so means the defense is waiving its right to present evidence.
Billanes is facing a graft and technical malversation charge due to the alleged irregular P1 million land deal entered into by the municipality with his brother, Romeo Billanes Jr., back in 2012.
The prosecution said that Billanes gave his brother undue advantage because his 7,775 square property located along the national highway of Poblacion in Trento was already identified for purchase even before the land was appraised.
In his motion for leave to file demurrer, Billanes said that the prosecution effectively refuted the existence of evident bad faith on his part when they established the fact that the accused divested himself from any form of participation regarding his brother's offered land.
He added that the prosecution's own witnesses and documentary exhibits refute the claim of manifest partiality when they testified that it was not Billanes who received their offers.
"Until the prosecution establishes that accused-movant should have been aware of the other offers to sell because these were given to him or to his office, accused-movant is not required to prove that he was unaware thereof," his motion read.
Unfortunately for him, the anti-graft court found his motion lacking in merit. "Considering that an examination of the evidence on record at this stage shows that there is sufficient evidence to support the indictment against accused-movant, and his motion has not persuaded the Court otherwise, it is preferable to proceed with the continuation of trial," the resolution read.
The nine-page resolution was penned by Associate Justice Zaldy Trespeses and Chairperson Ma. Theresa Dolores Gomez-Estoesta and Associate Justice Georgina Hidalgo.