Politics · Philippines Bureau
Court rejects Tarlac lawmaker's bid to consolidate graft cases
The Sandiganbayan has denied Rep. Noel Rivera's attempt to combine his nine graft counts into a single court division. The anti-graft court's decision came through a resolution issued this week.
LSN Philippines ·
The Sandiganbayan Sixth Division has rejected a motion filed by Tarlac 3rd District Representative Noel Rivera seeking to consolidate his nine counts of graft charges under one judicial panel.
Associate Justice Sarah Jane Fernandez authored the resolution denying Rivera's consolidation request on August 27, nearly a month after the lawmaker submitted his motion on July 27.
Rivera had sought to have all nine cases heard by the same court division, a move that would have streamlined proceedings across multiple graft charges. The court's decision to reject this consolidation means the cases will likely continue to be handled separately across different divisions.
The denial represents a setback for the Tarlac representative's legal defense strategy as he faces the multiple anti-graft charges before the specialized court that handles corruption cases involving public officials.