(From left to right) President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr., former Senate President Francis Escudero and former House Speaker Martin Romualdez (File photo from NOEL PABALATE / PPA Pool)
MANILA, Philippines — The Sandiganbayan Sixth Division on Monday began the hearing on the precautionary hold departure order (PHDO) petition for Sen. Francis “Chiz” Escudero and his alleged bagman Maynard Ngu.
This proceeding was prompted by the Office of the Ombudsman’s verified ex parte petition over complaints of plunder, graft and bribery filed before the anti-graft court on Saturday.
Being an ex-parte petition means that the counsels of respondents Escudero and Ngu were neither informed nor required to attend the proceedings.
Associate Justice Sarah Jane Fernandez also noted that the hearings are confidential.
Because of this, the media who covered the proceedings were ordered to leave the courtroom and only the prosecutors from the Office of the Ombudsman were allowed to remain inside.
“The court is worried there may be spoilage of evidence if the hearing is open for everyone,” Fernandez said.