AM 02 1 07 SC; (January, 2002) (Digest)

G.R. No. A.M. No. 02-1-07-SC January 21, 2002
RE: REQUEST OF ACCUSED THROUGH COUNSEL FOR CREATION OF A SPECIAL DIVISION TO TRY THE PLUNDER CASE (SB CRIM. CASE NO. 26558 AND RELATED CASES)

FACTS

This administrative matter arose from a request for re-raffle filed by the defense counsel for former President Joseph Estrada in the plunder case, citing the unstable composition of the Sandiganbayan’s Third Division originally assigned to the case. The defense noted the compulsory retirement of one justice and the indefinite leave of another, leaving only one permanent member, Justice Teresita Leonardo-De Castro, with two temporary special members. They argued this shifting membership hindered the better administration of justice and proposed transferring the case to the stable Fifth Division. The Special Prosecution Panel opposed the re-raffle, arguing membership changes were inevitable in any division, and instead recommended creating a Special Third Division with justices not retirable soon and not appointees of the accused.
The Supreme Court’s Oversight Committee, after a meeting with Sandiganbayan officials, examined the availability of justices. Several justices were nearing retirement, others recused themselves due to relationships with the accused, one was an appointee of the accused, and another was devoted to decision-writing. This left a limited pool from which to constitute a special division.

ISSUE

Whether the Supreme Court should create a special division of the Sandiganbayan to try the plunder case against former President Joseph Estrada and related cases.

RULING

Yes. The Supreme Court, exercising its constitutional power to promulgate rules for all courts, created a Special Division. The legal logic balances the need for a speedy and orderly trial with the substantive rights of the accused. The Court acknowledged the unique circumstances: the high-profile nature of the case, the public interest in its expeditious resolution, and the practical impossibility of maintaining a stable division through regular raffle given the recusals, impending retirements, and other constraints within the Sandiganbayan’s membership. The defense’s objection to Justice Leonardo-De Castro based on an unresolved recusal petition was deemed insufficient for disqualification, as such an allegation, without more, does not automatically warrant exclusion. The Court’s resolution was a necessary administrative measure to ensure continuity and prevent further delays. The constituted Special Division, composed of Acting Presiding Justice Minita Chico-Nazario as Chairman and Associate Justices Edilberto Sandoval and Teresita Leonardo-De Castro as Members, was tasked to hear and decide the cases with dispatch until their final termination, thereby serving the paramount interest of justice.