Sandiganbayan denies ex-mayor's bid for house, hospital arrest

The Sandiganbayan turned down a plea of a former Pampanga municipal mayor, indicted for graft for deliberately refusing to issue a permit to a trader who sued her and her husband, to be placed under either hospital or house arrest, citing her advanced age and alleged need for eye surgery.

Ex-Masantol mayor Corazon Lacap petitioned the anti-graft court to accord her “humanitarian considerations” by temporarily suspending the execution of her sentence following diagnoses of pseudophakia in her right eye and senile nuclear cataract in her left eye, with the latter requiring routine procedure.

Citing the plunder case of former senator Juan Ponce Enrile, who was granted bail due to frail health and old age, Lacap insisted that she be granted the same remedy.

She furnished the court with another medical certificate showing that she was also diagnosed with coronary artery disease, Type 2 diabetes, hypertension, and osteoporosis, which aggravated her need for medical attention.

The Sandiganbayan indicted Lacap in February 2011 for violating the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act (RA 3019) after refusing to issue a business permit to Fermina Santos, owner of a variety store located in the municipality of Masantol, out of spite.

Court records showed that Lacap’s deliberate denial of Santos’ application in 1999 and 2000 was motivated by personal and political conflicts because the latter sued her and her husband.

In denying the petition, the Sandiganbayan countered that Enrile’s case does not apply to Lacap, as the former was allowed provisional liberty before the court handed down its final ruling, while Lacap’s has already attained finality and is now executory.

“It bears emphasis that Enrile was granted provisional liberty during the pendency of his case, prior to the promulgation of a final judgment, unlike herein accused, who seeks relief only after conviction and the finality of judgment,” the court said in a resolution dated 23 April.

Moreover, the court also found “no compelling justification” to warrant a hospital confinement, pointing out that Lacap’s condition is “manageable” and could be sufficiently managed within the medical facilities and personnel available in the detention system.

“Compassion, while a relevant consideration in appropriate cases, cannot be allowed to override the demands of justice, especially where the judgment has become final and executory. As held by the Supreme Court, equity and compassion cannot be used to defeat the public's demand for accountability,” the resolution read.

“The court cannot permit humanitarian pleas to override the lawful consequences of a final judgment. To do so would diminish public confidence in the justice system and undermine the equal and impartial application of the law,” it added.

In conclusion, Lacap will serve her sentence of up to 10 years behind bars despite her alleged frail health condition.