THE Sandiganbayan disposed of 1,353 cases in 2023, a 74.6 percent increase compared to its 2022 tally of 775 cases.
Data released last February 8 by the Judicial Records Division showed the anti-graft court’s case disposal rate has again hit four digits after a three-year hiccup during the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic when it only managed to resolve 340 cases in 2020 and 366 cases in 2021.
The total of cases resolved was the highest in 28 years since the court recorded 2,652 cases disposed of in 1995.
Based on the breakdown provided in the report, the Fourth Division recorded the biggest case disposal with 542 cases.
The Third Division recorded 352; the Fifth Division, 229; the Second Division, 90; the Sixth Division, 72; the First Division, 41; and the Seventh Division, 27.
The faster disposal of cases also dropped its caseload to just 1,490 cases as of the start of 2024, compared to 2,339 cases the year before.
It was also the second lowest in 44 years.
The court started hearing cases against erring public officials in 1979, starting with only 543 cases.
The Sandiganbayan’s case disposal far outstripped the number of cases coming in from the Office of the Ombudsman, with only 263 cases filed in 2023 or an average of only 22 cases per month.
