Sandiganbayan acquits ex-Albay Gov of indirect bribery over jueteng

MANILA, Philippines — The Sandiganbayan Third Division on Friday acquitted former Albay Gov. Edcel Greco Lagman on the charges of indirect bribery and violation of the Anti-Illegal Gambling law after the witnesses who alleged that he was involved in jueteng operations recanted their statements.

“[T]he Court holds that reasonable doubts are present as regards Lagman’s guilt, necessitating an acquittal pursuant to the constitutional presumption of innocence,” the court said in a briefer of its decision.

In 2024, a former village official of Daraga town filed administrative and criminal charges before the Office of the Ombudsman against Lagman for allegedly receiving around P8.16 million as “payola” (payoff) from the operation of “jueteng,” an illegal numbers game, when he was vice governor of the province.

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READ: Ombudsman dismisses Albay gov over ‘jueteng’ payola rap

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Alwin Nimo, a former village and Sangguniang Kabataan chair of Barangay Anislag, claimed that he served as a “bagman” for jueteng operators who provided “protection money” to Lagman.

In 2025, the Ombudsman ordered Lagman’s dismissal after he was found guilty of grave misconduct for allegedly receiving payola in exchange for protecting the operators of “jueteng.”

Lagman, however, has denied receiving any money from jueteng operators as well as from Nimo.

In its briefer, the Sandiganbayan Third Division noted that witnesses who executed sworn statements regarding Lagman’s involvement in the jueteng operations have already recanted their statements.

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Because of this, the initial sworn statements have been declared as “admissible hearsay” and can no longer be used to support other pieces of evidence presented by the prosecution.

This left the court with “no inference to be derived in determining whether Lagman is indeed guilty of the crimes charged.”

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The court added that Lagman’s position as vice governor was also insufficient to establish his moral certainty of guilt. /ms