G.R. No. 274922 - PEOPLE OF THE PHILIPPINES, VS. THE HONORABLE SANDIGANBAYAN (FIRST DIVISION), TEDDY C. TUMANG AND WILLIAM B. COLIS.D E C I S I O N - Supreme Court E-Library

Ruling

WHEREFORE , finding probable cause, public respondent Teddy C. Tumang and private respondent William B. Colis are hereby INDICTED for twenty-nine (29) counts of violation of Section 3(e) of Republic Act No. 3019, as amended, and two (2) counts of violation of Article 217 of the Revised Penal Code. Let the corresponding Informations be filed against them before the proper court. SO ORDERED . [9] (Emphasis in the original) Such Resolution was approved by Director Adoracion A. Agbada and Deputy Ombudsman for Luzon Gerard A. Mosquera on December 6, 2018 and December 11, 2018 , respectively. [10] Thereafter, the same was approved by Ombudsman Samuel R. Martires on March 28, 2019 . [11] Tumang and Colis filed their Motions for Reconsideration on May 2, 2019 [12] and May 6, 2019 , [13] respectively. However, the Office of the Ombudsman only denied the Motions for Reconsideration in its Resolution dated April 23, 2024 . Consequently, the corresponding Informations were filed only on April 25, 2024 . Thereafter, the cases were raffled to the Sandiganbayan (First Division) and were docketed as SB-24-CRM-0013- 0043. [14] On May 30, 2024, before being arraigned, Tumang and Colis filed their Motion to Quash Informations and/or Dismiss the Cases. [15] In support of their Motion, they raised the following issues: That the facts charged in the Informations, assuming were true, do not constitute an offense; That the Informations contain averments which, if true, would constitute a legal excuse or justification; That the Informations failed to allege any kind of conspiracy and/or any overt act of conspiracy between and among the accused; and That there is a violation of their right to speedy trial from the time the criminal investigation commenced up to the time the Informations were filed before the Honorable Court. [16] On June 3, 2024, the Office of the Ombudsman filed its Opposition [17] to Tumang and Colis's Motion. Subsequently, the Sandiganbayan (First Division) rendered its June 10, 2024 Resolution, [18] the dispositive portion of which reads: ACCORDINGLY , the Motion to Quash Informations and/or Dismiss the Cases dated May 30, 2024 filed by accused Teddy Canlas Tumang and William Bonus Colis is GRANTED . The cases against the accused docketed as SB-24-CRM-0013 to 0043 are DISMISSED , the cash bonds they posted for their provisional liberty are ordered RELEASED , subject to the usual accounting and auditing procedures, and the Hold Departure Order issued against them is ordered LIFTED . SO ORDERED . [19] (Emphasis in the original) In granting Tumang and Colis's Motion to Quash Informations and/or Dismiss the Cases, the Sandiganbayan (First Division) agreed that their right to speedy disposition of cases was violated when the preliminary investigation proceedings conducted against them lasted for more than six yearscounted from the date the Complaint-Affidavit was initiated on December 13, 2017, to the date the Informations were filed before the Sandiganba