Sandiganbayan upholds Special Prosecutor's role in Escaler case

The Sandiganbayan has denied a motion filed by businessman Ernest de Leon Escaler to disqualify the Office of the Special Prosecutor from handling his civil forfeiture case.

Escaler argued that a Supreme Court ruling prohibits the Ombudsman's special prosecutor from filing and prosecuting cases under Republic Act No. 1379, which deals with unlawfully acquired properties.

The court dismissed Escaler's arguments as 'highly misplaced', citing the SC’s ruling in Republic vs Sandiganbayan, which restricts the authority of the Ombudsman to cases amassed after February 25, 1986.

In its resolution dated March 7, the court ruled that the forfeiture case and the OSP as counsel for the state are both valid.

The Sandiganbayan emphasized that no one had previously questioned the OSP's representation of the Philippine government in forfeiture cases, including the decade-long case involving former Justice Secretary Hernando Perez.

Escaler faces this civil case alongside former Justice Secretary Hernando Perez, his wife Rosario, and brother-in-law Ramon Antonio Arceo Jr., stemming from allegations involving a $2 million demand made by Perez in 2001.