Time seems on the side of Ifugao Representative Teodoro Baguilat Jr. as the Sandiganbayan ruled with finality on the dismissal of the graft charges against him over the allegedly overpriced purchase of a used vehicle in 2003.

Reports say the case was dismissed due to an inordinate delay of 13 years to complete the fact-finding and preliminary investigations.

The Sandiganbayan Fifth Division ruled that the periods for government prosecutors to file appeals under Rules 45 and 65 of the Rules of Court covering the filing of petitions for certiorari before the Supreme Court have already lapsed.

Baguilat, then serving as Ifugao governor, and two provincial officials allegedly conspired with one another when they purchased a second-hand Isuzu Wagon Trooper worth P900,000 without public bidding and budget appropriation.

Prosecutors from the Office of the Ombudsman appealed the case, saying the decision of the Sandiganbayan is not yet final based on the 15-day period allowed to file a petition for certiorari stated under Rule 45 of the Rules of Court.

It also emphasized that the 60-day period under Rule 65 to file the same plea has not yet expired when it received the Sandiganbayan resolution on 4 June.

The Supreme Court had declared that Rules 45 and 65 are separate legal remedies, with the former “for review errors of judgment” while the latter covers “errors of jurisdiction or grave abuse of discretion.”

The anti-graft court denied the partial motion for reconsideration of the prosecution in a resolution dated 10 August.

“However, the issue of whether or not a petition under Rule 45 or Rule 65 is the proper remedy has become irrelevant here, considering that to date, the prosecution has not filed any of such petition. The record shows that the period of 15 days (Rule 45) and 60 days (Rule 65) to file any of such petitions had already lapsed,” the court said in its resolution.