Palace suspends prosecutor Sulit over plea bargain deal

(Updated 5:55 p.m.) Malacañang suspended Special Prosecutor Wendell Barreras-Sulit for 90 days for graft and betrayal of public trust because of the plea bargain agreement she entered into with former military comptroller Maj. Gen. Carlos Garcia. In a press statement, Executive Secretary Paquito Ochoa Jr., who signed the order Tuesday, said the suspension aims to ensure that there will be no tampering of evidence and interference in the investigation. Sulit was given 10 days to submit her answer to the charges before the Office of the Deputy Executive Secretary for Legal Affairs (ODESLA). She reportedly received the order late afternoon Tuesday. GMA News Online tried to reach Sulit for comment but her staff said she was in a meeting. According to Section 8 of the Ombudsman Act (Republic Act 6770), “a deputy or the special prosecutor, may be removed from office by the President for any of the grounds provided for the removal of the Ombudsman, and after due process." Offshoot of House investigation The administrative case of graft and betrayal of public trust filed against Sulit was an offshoot of an investigation conducted by the House Committee on Justice into the plea bargain agreement between the Office of the Ombudsman and Garcia. The House panel recommended that Sulit be dismissed from service for culpable violation of the Constitution and betrayal of public trust. “Pending investigation of said charges, respondent (Sulit) is hereby placed under preventive suspension for a period of 90 days, effective upon receipt hereof, considering the seriousness of the charges, the existence of prima facie case against respondent that she is probably guilty thereof which warrants her removal from the service and respondent’s continuance in the office may pose threat to the safety and integrity of the record and other evidence," the order stated. Sulit allegedly violated existing rules and jurisprudence when she “knowingly and willfully" entered into a plea bargain deal with Garcia for his P303-million plunder case pending before the Sandiganbayan. The Palace further said that Sulit, together with her deputies, “impaired deliberately the case for the prosecution by ignoring and abandoning evidence favorable to the interest of the government and presenting evidence adverse to its cause." It also alleged that Sulit failed to discharge her mandated duty of prosecuting erring public officials with utmost responsibility, integrity and professional competence. Sulit was also accused of causing undue injury to the government and gave unwarranted benefits to Garcia through “manifest partiality, evident bad faith and gross inexcusable negligence." 'Justice is achieved' In a statement released Wednesday, Senate blue ribbon committee chairman Sen. Teofisto Guingona III welcomed the decision of the Palace. "The suspension of the prosecutors by Malacañang is in consonance with the recommendations of the Senate Blue Ribbon Committee report. Malacañang is therefore paying attention to, and following recommendations. "This is the way it should be done. The Senate Blue Ribbon Committee comes out with its findings and the executive branch of government implements the recommendations so that justice is achieved," he said. Last March, the blue ribbon committee had released a partial report recommending the impeachment of Ombudsman Merceditas Gutierrez and the dismissal and filing of charges against the state prosecutors who entered into a plea bargaining agreement with Garcia. - with Andreo Calonzo, Kimberly Jane Tan, VVP, RSJ, GMA News