(Eagle News) — The Sandiganbayan has denied Senator Gringo Honasan’s motion for reconsideration of the anti-graft court’s earlier denial of his bid to junk the graft cases filed against him in connection with the pork barrel scam.
In a resolution dated Oct. 7, the second division said that Honasan’s latest MR was “devoid of merit,” after it ruled the senator used the same arguments he used when he first sought the dismissal of his cases.
It added Honasan was asking for a “redetermination of probable cause,” which was not possible since the anti-graft court would have to proceed with ruling on the criminal liability, if any, of the senator anyway.
The graft cases filed by the Ombudsman against Honasan and several others on Aug. 1 stem from the alleged payment of P29.1 million of Honasan’s Priority Development Assistance Fund to the nongovernment organization Focus on Development Goals Inc. without what the anti-graft body said was the benefit of public bidding.
The payment was for the supposed implementation of the senator’s programs for Muslims in Metro Manila and Zambales, the Ombudsman said.
Honasan is out on bail.