Finally, the wheels of justice have started to roll. The Fifth Division of the Sandiganbayan has issued a subpoena to the complaining witnesses in a graft case filed against former Panglao Mayor Doloreich Dumaluan. Dumaluan served as Panglao mayor for one term in 2004-2007. The case was filed against Dumaluan arising from his alleged personal use of gasoline paid for by government funds. The complainants alleged that during his incumbency as mayor, private vehicles owned by Dumaluan used gasoline paid for by the municipal government. The Sandiganbayan Fifth Division will hold a preliminary conference and pre-trial of the case filed against Dumaluan docketed as case no. SB-08-CRM-0300. In the subpoena signed by lawyer Ma. Teresa Pabulayan, the witnesses were commanded to appear before the Fifth Division at the 2nd Floor of the Sandiganbayan Centennial Building in Quezon City at 10 am on Feb. 5.

The case before the Fifth Division is just one of the cases that the controversial former mayor is facing. The long lines of cases include OMB-V-C-05-0446-J and OMB-V-A-05-0472-J for violation of the National Building Code, Anti-Graft Law and Conduct Unbecoming of a Public Official, OMB-V-C-06-0456-I and OMB-V-A-06-0499-I for perjury, falsification, dishonesty and gross misconduct; OMB-V-C-05-0402-I and OMB-V-A-05-0426-I for malversation of public funds, OMB-V-C-06-0257-E and OMB-V-A-06-0269-E for malversation of public funds and abuse of authority. The other cases filed against Dumaluan include OMB-V-C-06-0257-E and OMB-V-A-06-0269-E for grave abuse of authority, gross misconduct, oppression and discrimination, OMB-V-C-06-0116-B and OMB-V-A-06-0136-B for non-filing and late filing of statements of assets and liabilities and the complaint for ill-gotten wealth before the Office of the Visayas Ombudsman. The most high-profile case against Dumaluan, however, was the complaint for rape with homicide filed by spouses Eusebio and Antonia Dumaluan which is pending review before the Office of the President.

The case stemmed from the rape and killing of a minor shortly before the 2004 elections which Dumaluan exploited for his electoral campaign. That was the only time Dumaluan won as mayor when he rode on the anger over the crime. In the next election, however, Mayor Benedicto Alcala exacted revenge on Dumaluan on allegations he was the one who masterminded the crime. A little time later, a self-confessed participant in the crime emerged and issued an affidavit narrating the circumstances and Dumaluan's real role.  A panel from the Office of the Provincial Prosecutor dismissed the cases but it was appealed to the Secretary of Justice who upheld the findings. Last year, Dumaluan figured in a shooting incident with workers of a neighboring resort and was treated for a bullet wound. Like most of the cases filed against him, Dumaluan managed to turn the tables on his neighbor. The perception that Dumaluan has the ability to “put his cases to sleep” seems to be eroded with the start of the hearing in the Sandiganbayan's Fifth Division.