THE Sandiganbayan on Wednesday set the arraignment of former justice secretary Hernando Perez and his wife, and their other coaccused, despite their petition to the Supreme Court (SC) asking that the Ombudsman be stopped from prosecuting them.

In a one-page order, Presiding Justice and Sandiganbayan First Division chairman Diosdado Peralta compelled Perez, his wife Rosario, his brother in law Ramon Arceo and business associate Ernest Escaler to appear before his sala for arraignment on May 16.

On April 18, Ombudsman Merceditas Gutierrez approved the filing of charges against Perez and his companions before the antigraft court in connection with the $2-million extortion complaint filed by former congressman Mark Jimenez of Manila.

Jimenez claimed that Perez and his codefendants extorted $2 million from him when he refused to execute sworn affidavits implicating close associates of former President Joseph Estrada in the plunder case against the latter.

Three other criminal charges—graft, falsification of public documents, and robbery extortion—are also pending against Perez before three other divisions of the antigraft court.

Under court procedures, the completion of arraignment formally places a defendant in the court’s jurisdiction so that trial can proceed.

On Monday, Perez has asked the Sandiganbayan to suspend the proceedings of his case pending the SC’s resolution of his petition questioning his indictment by the Ombudsman.

Perez believed the Ombudsman committed grave abuse of discretion amounting to lack or excess of jurisdiction.

Bohol protests hills’ removal from new ‘Seven Wonders’ list

TAGBILARAN CITY—Government officials in Bohol have lodged a formal inquiry on the removal of Chocolate Hills on the list of world destinations in the running for the new seven wonders of the world.

THE Supreme Court (SC) has ordered the prosecution for graft of three relatives of former first lady Imelda Romualdez Marcos in connection with the behest loans obtained by their company Agretronics Inc. from the Development Bank of the Philippines (DBP) in 1980.

CITY OF SAN FERNANDO—The combined monitoring team of the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) and the National Food Authority (NFA) has been conducting surprise inspections of rice warehouses since the start of the week to deter traders from hoarding the precious grain.

ZAMBOANGA CITY—The al-Qaeda-linked Abu Sayyaf bandits have resorted to petty crimes to boost the group’s resources.

THE Armed Forces has dismantled eight more guerrilla fronts of the New People’s Army (NPA) during the past three months.

THE Sandiganbayan on Wednesday set the arraignment of former justice secretary Hernando Perez and his wife, and their other coaccused, despite their petition to the Supreme Court (SC) asking that the Ombudsman be stopped from prosecuting them.

WHAT was expected to be a heated confrontation between the head of the government’s antismuggling arm and legislators turned out to be fruitful as the House and the Presidential Antismuggling Group (PASG) agreed to help each other in crafting a bill that could eradicate rampant smuggling activities that has cost the government some P120 billion in unrealized revenues annually.

THE Intellectual Property Office of the Philippines (IP Philippines) said Tuesday major issues raised about the Philippines by US lobby group International Intellectual Property Alliance (IIPA) for the evaluation of the United States Trade Representative are unfounded.