Court junks ex-PNP chief’s plea for permission to file demurrer to evidence
Credit to Author: The Manila Times| Date: Thu, 11 Apr 2019 11:45:56 +0000
THE Sandiganbayan Second Division denied former Philippine National Police (PNP) Director General Alan Purisima’s plea for permission to file a demurrer to evidence in the perjury cases, which he is facing over his alleged failure to state and declare properties in several of his Statements of Assets, Liabilities, and Net Worth (SALN).
In a resolution, the court denied Purisima’s Motion for Leave to File Demurrer to Evidence and to Admit Attached Demurrer to Evidence.
“In fine, accused fell short in his compliance with the specificity requirement under the above-cited rule. It must be stressed that the Court cannot be compelled to go beyond the Motion and examine in detail the discussion and arguments of the accused in the appended Demurrer to Evidence since leave of court has not yet been granted for the resolution of the same,” the court said.
“Technicality aside, the Motion must still be denied, as the testimonial and documentary evidence presented by the prosecution, unless successfully rebutted by the accused, appear to be prima facie sufficient to support a finding of guilt beyond reasonable doubt,” it said.
A demurrer to evidence is a motion to dismiss challenging the sufficiency of the evidence presented by the prosecution during trial. If a court denies a demurrer which the defendant filed with its permission, he may present evidence in his defense. REINA C. TOLENTINO
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