Supreme Court decisions, legal cases involving public officials, and justice system developments
22 articles
Judges at The Hague ordered the former president to remain in custody ahead of trial, after Malacañang said he appeared to be in good health at his first in-person appearance — an observation that cuts against his own defense team's argument that he cannot understand the proceedings against him.
Prosecutors found insufficient evidence that Ramil Madriaga lied under oath when he accused Duterte of funding her 2022 campaign with money from drug lords and POGO operators, and of misusing part of a ₱125-million confidential fund.
The Supreme Court's First Division has overturned Imelda Marcos' 2018 graft conviction over Swiss foundations, ruling prosecutors never properly authenticated key evidence more than three decades after the ill-gotten wealth case was filed.
Ombudsman Jesus Crispin Remulla says courts have been "too kind" in granting bail to officials convicted of graft while their appeals are pending, and his office will check whether Sandiganbayan convicts are actually behind bars.
The anti-graft court's Third Division ruled the Office of the Ombudsman violated Jed Patrick Mabilog's constitutional right to a speedy disposition of cases by taking almost seven years to file charges over a 2015 Iloilo City towing contract.
The anti-graft court's Second Division ruled that removing Manuel Bonoan as a co-accused now would unfairly alter Sen. Jinggoy Estrada's defense, but left prosecutors free to seek his testimony later as a state witness.
The Third Division's order came a day after Marcoleta withdrew his motion to quash and pleaded not guilty to plunder and anti-gift law charges over an alleged undeclared ₱75-million campaign donation — a plea that under the Anti-Plunder Act can trigger preventive suspension from the Senate.
The Supreme Court on June 10 threw out a petition filed by a high school teacher asking the court to affirm the quorum in the June 3 Senate session that installed Acting Senate President Sherwin Gatchalian — ruling that the petitioner failed to show any direct injury from the disputed session, leaving the Senate leadership contest unresolved by the judiciary.
Retired Supreme Court Senior Associate Justice Antonio Carpio said a senator held as a detention prisoner cannot attend sessions, vote, or be counted toward a quorum or majority — and that the Plunder Law independently bars Sen. Jinggoy Estrada from filing bills, a legal reading that carries direct stakes for the Senate's contested leadership math.
The Sandiganbayan Fifth Division ruled on June 4 that former DPWH Secretary Manuel Bonoan — who faces a non-bailable plunder charge over the flood control kickback scandal — may be confined at the PNP General Hospital rather than a regular jail, citing nine serious medical conditions including Stage IV renal disease and prostate cancer. His arraignment, along with that of Senator Jinggoy Estrada, has been moved to June 30.
