Punishing the dead? Philippines' state prosecutor files case against late lawmaker

The Ombudsman Office filed the case at the Sandiganbayan Court for violating the Anti Graft and Practices Law.

Picture for representation
Picture for representation Reuters

The Office of the State Prosecutor, otherwise known as Office of the Ombudsman, filed a case against lawmaker Maximo Dalog without having any knowledge that the legislator in the Northern Philippines passed away last June 2017.

The Ombudsman Office filed the case at the Sandiganbayan Court for violating the Anti Graft and Practices Law. The Ombudsman Office is a government agency whose mandate is to investigate and file cases against high-rank government officials for allegedly committing graft and corruption practices.

The case filed against Dalog was due to his involvement in an anomalous purchase of a vehicle amounting to P 843,700 when he was serving as the governor of Mountain Province in 2006. State prosecutors found out that in the official receipt, the amount paid to the supplier was higher by P 87,700 than what was stated on the receipt.

However, the criminal case against Dalog is expected to be dismissed because under Philippine laws "criminal liability is totally extinguished upon the death of the accused.

Surprising, the ombudsman office was not aware that Dalog has already passed away last June 3 after battling a kidney problem while serving his last term as a legislative representative at the Philippine House of Congress.

The lawmaker was known for introducing a law mandating bus terminals to provide toilets for passengers without charging any fee.

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