The Sandiganbayan has ordered the graft trial of former Anti-Red Tape Authority (ARTA) chief Jeremiah Belgica and four other former officials to proceed, rejecting their appeals to halt the case.
In a resolution, the court denied motions from Belgica and his co-accused, reaffirming its earlier decision from August that green lighted the trial. The former officials had argued that two pending Supreme Court cases involving telecom disputes should pause the proceedings, but the court said those cases were unrelated to the graft charges.
The case centers on a 2021 order issued by then ARTA chief Belgica allegedly giving NOW Telecom access to 3G mobile frequencies already assigned to rival telco Dito Telecommunity. Prosecutors claim the order was irregular and that NOW Telecom wasn’t qualified to gain access to the frequencies.
The court said the main issue is whether there was wrongdoing in how the order was issued—not whether ARTA had the legal power to issue it.
Also set to stand trial are ARTA Deputy Director General Eduardo Bringas, Division Chief Sheryl Pura-Sumagui, and Directors Jedrek Ng and Melamy Salvadora-Asperin. The Cainta Regional Trial Court has been instructed to immediately resume the case.
