I ~STELA TERI ITA C. ROSETE Executive C erk of Court IlL ~1!.'rlb'IED 'rR~UEXEROX COP,! •• Firs DiviBionJ..-y\lo-1~\~ Republic of the Philippines SANDTGAJ\JBA Y AN Quezon City FIRST DIVISION PEOPLE OF TIlE PIIILIPPINES, PlaintifT, CRIM. C!\SI~ NO. 27813 -Versus- PRESENT: CiERALDI·~/,.j., Chairman DE 1~ACRUZ, & PONFERRADA, J.J. MATEO A.T. CAPARAS, MAXIMO A. MACEREN, ZOSIMO C. MALABANAN, ISMAEL B. SANCHEZ, MARIO Y. GALANG, BENITO CUEVO, & JOI-TN DOES, Accused. Promulgat~,d:, U'I x --- -- ------ ----- --- --------- --- -~=~1~l~ci1j------------_LL,--_~---------L----lf-=- .' x DECISION PONFERRADA, [.: II, \ Accused MATEO A.T. CAPARAS, MAXIMO A. MACEREN,~, ~ .."" ZOSIMO C. MALABANAN, ISMALL B. SANCHEZ, MARIO Y. ~._/ \ ..J GALANG, BENITO CtJEVO and several JOliN DOES are charged with \ "1r-\ DECISION - PEOPLE vs. MA TEO A. 7: CIPARAS, ETAL. Page Crim. Case No. 27813 violation of Section 3(e) ofRA 3019, otherwise known as the Anti-Graft and I Corrupt Practices Act, as amended, under the following Information which reads - "That on or about September 28, 1989. or sometime prior or subsequent thereto, in Pasig City, Metro Manila. Philippines. and within the jurisdiction of this Honorable Court. the above named accused MATEO A.T. CAPARAS. MAXIMO A. MACEREN. ZOSIMO C. MALABANAN, and ISMAEL B. SANCHEZ. being then the Chairman. Acting Commissioner. Director for Operations/Chairman. Bidding Committee and Senior Executive Assistant/Attorncy V. respecti\ely. of the Presidential Commission on Goocl Government (PCG(]). the first three accused being then high ranking public officials. together \vith MARIO Y. GALANG of the Commission on Audit (COA). private individual BENITO CUEVO of International Merchandising Development Corporation (lMDC) and several JOI-IN D01::S, with accused public officials taking advantage of their respective official positions and committing the offense in relation to otlice, conspiring. confederating and mutually helping one another. with evident bad I~jith (or at the very least. with gross inexcusable negligence). did then and there willfully. unlawfully and criminally cause undue injury to the government by selling, without the Sandiganbayan's authority. to Walter Fuller Aircraft Sales, Inc. (Walter FuIJer), an alleged sequestered property which is uncler the Sandiganbayan's jurisdiction. and described as foIIO\vs: A VIONS DASSAULT - BREGUET FAL.CON 30 JET MODEL - 1982 MANUFACTURER'S SERIAL NO. 082 CERTIFICATE OF REGISTRATION NO. RP-C754 also known as the Falcon jet. for thc sum of FIVE MILLION TWENTY FIVE THOUSAND US DOLLARS (US$3.023.000.00). which aircraft has been previously leascd to United Chemicals. Inc. by its registered owner Faysound Limited. a United States based corporation, but which sale was subsequently nuJli fied by the District Court of the States of Arkansas. USA, upon a suit filed by Faysound Limited. and \\hich court directed \Valter Fuller to turn over and restore ownership and possession of the aforesaid aircraft to Faysound Limited. thus rendering the Philippine Government liable for breach of warranty and damages in the total amount of SEVEN MILLION SIX HUNDRED FORTY ONE THOUSAND DOLLARS (US$7.641.568.34). and which amount eventually was paid by the Philippine Government to Walter Fuller. thereby causing undue injur) and prejudice to the governmcnt in the af()resaid amount. CONTRAR Y TO LA \\/.,-1 Upon arraignment, accused Benito Cuevo,1 Maximo A. Maccrcn, I Records, Vol. I, pp. 1-). 2 Id., at pp. 438-440. Zosimo, Records. Vol.C. Malabanan,II. pp. 497-499-A. and Ismael B. Sanchez,; assisted by their rcsrcet::~l J rw ri -, DECISION - PEOPLE vs. MA TEO A. T. C>tPARAS, ETAL. Page .' Crim. Case No. 27813 counsels, entered a plea of NOT GUILTY. The other accused Mateo A.T. Caparas and Mario Y. Galang are sti II at-large. After the pre-trial conference held on July IS, .2005, the Court issued a Pre-trial Order4 \vhich contains, infer olia, the parties' stipulation or I~lcts and issues, to wi t. III Stipulations The prosecution and the accused puhlic officials stipulated on the public positions held by the rcspective accused during the time rcIc\'ant to the case as follows: I. Maximo A. Maceren - was the acting Commissioner of the Presidential Commission on Clood Government (PCCIC;) from April 1989 until the cnd or his term in December 1990: ) Zosimo C. Malabanan \\as the Director t()I' Operations and Chairman of the Bidding Committee of the PCGG: and ], Ismacl 8. Sanchez - was the Senior Exccutive Assistant. Attorney V, of the PCGCI. The prosecution and all the accused stipulated on the following facts: I. On 31 July 1987. the Republic of the Philippines and the PCClC! filed Civil Case No. 0033 against Eduardo Cojuangco. Jr. and sixty (60) other defendants for reconveyance. reversion. accounting. restitution and damages. Among the seq uestered assets i11\'01 ved in the said case \vas an aircraft more particularly described as follows·- A vions Dassaul I - Brcgucl Falcon 50 Jet ]'v10del - 1982 Manufacturer Serial No. 082 Cert. of Reg. No. RP-C754 which was registered in the name of Faysound LId .. a Hongkong registered corporation with United Coconut Chemicals. Inc. ("Unichem") as lessee. the same aircraft subject of ihe transaction complaint of in the instant criminal case. 2. On 2 I February 1989. the PCGC thru Commissioners Augusto Villarin. David Castro. Rosalia de Leon and Acting Commissioner Nievelina Rosete. issued a Memorandum authorizing the salc of the a irc ra ft. 3. On 20 March 1989. the Office of the Solicitor General filed before the Sancliganbayan a "rvlotion for Authority to Sell Sequestered Aircraft Pending Litigation" in Ci\'il Case No. 0033. 4. On 25 April 1989. the PCGG issued a Resolution creating a Bidding Committee composed of the following: -JRecords. Vol. III. pp. 259-270, DECISION - PEOPLE vs. MA TEO A.I: CAPARAS, ET AL. Page 4 Crim. Case No. 27813 Chairman Director Zosimo Malabanan Members Ilerll1enigildo Reyes Atty. Manuel T. Buyson Mario Galang (COA) ). On 18 May 1989. the Sandiganbayan DEN IED the "Motion for Authority to Sell Sequestered Aircraft"' and f()Und "no justification prima facie or otherwise xxx for the seizure from the lessee." 6. Not satisfied with the ruling of the Sandiganbayan. the PCGC! liled a Petition for Certiorari before the Supreme Court docketed as C!.R. No. 88336, alleging grave abuse of discretion on the part of the Sandiganbayan in the denying the motion to sell the aircraft and praying that the 18 May 1989 Resolution in Civil Case No. 0033 be nullified. 7. On June 2, 1989. the Office of the Solicitor Ceneral (OSe;) wrote a letter to Commissioner Rosalio de Leon with the advise that ..the auction sale may still proceed as sale pendente Ii/e." 8. On 06 June 1989. the Supreme Court issued. in C.R. No. 88336 a Temporary Restraining Order directing the Sandiganbayan to cease and desist from enforcing its assailed 18 May 1989 Resolution in Civil Case No. 0033. 9. On July J 7. ] 989, a letter was written by the aSCI addressed to Director Zosimo Malabanan \vith the statement that "V,itll the issuance of the above temporary restraining order by the Supreme Court in G.R. 883361 it is believed that there is no legal obstacle to the projected sale of the subject aircraft under the circumstances mentioned in your letter dated May 24. 1989." 10. On 21 September 1989. the PCGG thru Chairman Mateo A.T. Caparas issued a letter of even date. giving notice of 3\vard to Walter Fuller Aircraft. Inc. and accepting the otTer of US$5.025 Million as the full purchase price. J J. On 26 December J990. the Supreme Court en !Junc dismissed the PCGG's petition in G.R. No. 88336 (Republic vs. Sancliganbayan). reported in ]92 SCRA 743 119901. ruling that ··the decision to sell the aircraft is not within the limited administrativc po\vers of the PCGCI, but requires the sanction of the Sandiganbayan which can grant or withhoJd the same in the exercise of sound discretion and on the basis of the evidence before it.·· As a consequence thereoL the Supreme Court ordered the PCGC; to deposit the proceeds of the sale of the subject aircraft with the PNB "for the account of the Sandiganbayan in escrow for the person or persons. natural or juridical. who may be adjudged lawfully entitled thereto." 12. In order to pay Walter Fuller. the PCGG filed on 13 April 1998 with the Sandiganbayan in Civil Case No. 0033 an "Ex-Parte Motion to Withdraw" the PNB Escrow Deposit for transmission to \Valter Fuller, wherein it sought that ··... the PNI3 be immediately directed to release the funds on deposit to the Bureau of Treasury for transmission to Walter Fuller Sales, Inc. [in accordance] with the above Agreement and decisions of the US Federal Courts." J3. On March 20. 2001. the Supreme Court issued its Decision in G.R. No. ]42476. Republic vs. Sandiganbayan (reported in 354 SCRA 756) granting the PCGG's petition and ordering the Sandiganbayan to release the PNB Escrow Deposit for transmission to Walter Fuller. In ruling that sale of the aircralt is null and \oie!. the Supreme Court stated that the Republic cannot be bound by the terms of the PCCCI Agreement with Walter Fuller and thus. there can he no cause of DECISION - PEOPLE I'S. MA 1'EO A.1: CAI~4RA5,', E1'AL. Page ) Crim. Case No. 27813 -------.-------------------------- --~----------_._-~_._----~--_.._-~-_.~---~--~--_._---- -------.-.---- --.----.------ action against it. and that "Petitioner [Republiclmust. therefore. take immediate appropriate action against the PCCCi personnel involved in the unauthorized sale of the aircraft," IV Issues The parties agreed that the three main issues to be resolved are: ], Whether or not each of the individual accused participated in the sale of the subject aircraft; 2.