The House committee on justice voted 35-5 with one abstention yesterday to throw out the complaint filed by Ernesto Francisco against Desierto.
The committee, chaired by Rep. Marcelino Libanan (NPC, Eastern Samar), found the complaint "insufficient in substance" and should therefore be dismissed.
Officials and employees of the Office of the Ombudsman led by Desierto’s deputy, Margarito Gervacio, who attended yesterday’s hearing, applauded as Libanan announced the vote.
Desierto himself was elated by the decision, which he had not expected.
"This is not a personal triumph but rather a vindication for all the people who have put their trust and confidence in the democratic processes of our country. Now we can go on with the prosecution of Estrada. We can now spend all our waking hours to secure Erap’s conviction," he said.
The Ombudsman is pursuing the graft cases against deposed President Joseph Estrada.
"I was not expecting the decision but I was very hopeful because there was no really no factual basis for the complaint," Desierto added.
At a forum yesterday honoring the top 10 newsmakers of the year, Desierto thanked those who stood by him and supported him in the wake of the controversy.
He also called for unity and a stop to the mudslinging for the sake of the country.
"At this time when the process of vilification and the practice of always being vilified in your position is being committed with impunity, our unity would be our biggest consideration for our country to move forward," Desierto said.
The House committee’s finding will be submitted to the entire House within 10 session days. The chamber, in plenary session and by a vote of at least one-third, or 72, of all its members, can reverse it and order the committee to proceed hearing Desierto’s case.
Francisco, who has accused the Ombudsman of bribery, violation of the Constitution and betrayal of public trust, said he was still hopeful that congressmen "would choose to hear the truth about Desierto."
"If they give me my day in court, I will prove my case against him," he told reporters after the justice committee’s vote.
Rep. Oscar Moreno (Lakas, Misamis Oriental), principal endorser of the complaint, said the vote reflects the awesome powers of the Ombudsman.
"He moved heaven and earth. He knew that if the committee found the complaint sufficient in substance, there would be full-blown hearings, and that would be the beginning of the end of Desierto," he said.
"But all is not lost yet," added Moreno, who was a member of the House panel that prosecuted Estrada in his Senate impeachment trial.
Many of those who voted to have the case thrown out cited as their main argument the denial of businessman-banker Luke Roxas that he delivered P500,000 in cash to Desierto in September 1997, which Francisco claims to have witnessed and which is the principal ground for his complaint.
"In bribery, it takes two to tango, and in this case, one party has denied bribing the other," said Rep. Oscar Gozos (Lakas, Batangas).
Representatives Antonio Abaya (Lakas, Isabela) and Zenaida Ducut (NPC, Pampanga) said the complaint is based on "hearsay, impressions and conjectures."
"There is no iota of evidence to support the charge of bribery," said Ducut.
Other congressmen delved on Francisco’s charge that Desierto received P300,000 worth of video equipment through a certain Fernando "Ding" Timbol who, the complainant claims, is the Ombudsman’s public relation handler.
They said the pieces of equipment were given to Timbol, whom they described as a free-lance cameraman, and not to Desierto.
One justice committee member, Leovigildo Banaag (NPC, Agusan del Norte), even went to the extent of accusing Francisco as the one who conceived and set up the alleged bribery involving Roxas, the complainant’s former client.
Other members also accused Francisco of violating the lawyer-client relationship.
Besides Moreno, those who voted for finding the complaint sufficient in substance were Representatives Arthur Defensor of Iloilo, Lawrence Wacnang of Kalinga, Ernie Dulalas Clarete of Misamis Occidental, and Liza Maza of Bayan Muna.
Defensor chided those who opted to throw out the case for judging based on what they described as hearsay and conjectures.
"We are not here to find the accused guilty or not guilty. What is asked of us is to determine, based on the complaint and the evidence, whether there is reasonable ground to believe that an offense has been committed," he said.
He said a full-blown hearing would be good for Desierto, who would be able to confront Francisco and present in his side.
Significantly, opposition congressmen sitting in the justice committee voted as one to clear Desierto. They included Maguindanao’s Didagen Dilangalen, a staunch ally of Estrada, whom the Ombudsman is prosecuting in the Sandiganbayan.
Northern Luzon and Samar congressmen also voted as a bloc for junking the case. – With Jose Aravilla, Delon Porcalla